Assistant Professor of Biology
Microbiology
BDK Science Center 214
(937) 327-6389
chatterjeek@wittenberg.edu
Dr. Chatterjee is a RNA biologist with a particular interest in studying nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling of tRNA molecules. He holds B.S. and M.S degrees in Microbiology from Calcutta University and Ph.D. in Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Dr. Chatterjee obtained his post-doctoral training in molecular genetics in Dr. Anita K. Hopper’s laboratory at The Ohio State University. He has conducted research on archaeal small non-coding RNAs and yeast tRNAs. His lab is currently working on how tRNA molecules are exported from their site of synthesis in the nucleus to their site of function in protein production in the cytoplasm, using yeast as a model organism. With the emerging roles of tRNA being highlighted in various human disease conditions including cancer, Dr. Chatterjee was awarded the Pelotonia Cancer fellowship for his research in 2016.
Dr. Chatterjee is a serious movie buff, avid reader of mythologies from all over the world and loves to cook in his free time.
Courses Taught
- BIOL212: Cell Biology
- BIOL223: Human Pathophysiology
- BIOL104TG: Biology on the big screen
- BIOL 406: Senior Capstone
- BIOL 227: Microbiology and Immunology
- BIOL 310: Molecular Biology
- BIOL 170: Concepts in Biology: Biological Information, Reproduction and Evolution
- BIOL 180: Concepts in Biology: Energy and Resources in Biology
- BIOL 164: Microbiology for Health Science
- BIOL 181: Concepts of Biology Lab
- BIOL 171: Concepts of Biology Lab
- BIOL 104TD: Non-infectious diseases
- CCUE-100: Community Engagement
Current Research
- Identify gene products/ proteins involved in tRNA quality control to eliminate non-functional tRNAs in yeast cells.
- Investigation into the fidelity of the Mex67-Mtr2 and Crm1 proteins for tRNA nuclear export in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
- Identify how different tRNA export pathways communicate with each other under varying environmental conditions.
- Investigate fidelity of tRNA production under environmental stress conditions.
- Identification of hypomodified tRNA bases in yeast cells upon stress conditions.
- Identifying fungal and bacterial populations in spotted and painted turtle species in Ohio (In collaboration with Dr. Richard Phillips, Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences).
- Identifying naturally occurring antibiotic resistant bacteria in the environment (in collaboration with Dr. Catherine Short, Department of Nursing, Wittenberg University).
Academic Awards, Grants and Honors
- 2026: Omicron Kappa Delta “Teaching Excellence Award”
- 2025: The Lillian C. Franklin Diversity Award- Wittenberg University.
- 2026: Co-Principal Investigator- NSF-funded The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program
Selected Publications
- Kunal Chatterjee, William A Marshall, Anita K Hopper. Three tRNA nuclear exporters in S. cerevisiae: parallel pathways, preferences, and precision. Nucleic Acids Res. 2022 Sep 23;50(17):10140-10152. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkac754. PMID: 36099418. PMCID: PMC9508810. DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac754.
- Chatterjee K, Majumder S, Wan Y, Shah V, Wu J, Huang HY, Hopper AK. Sharing the load: Mex67-Mtr2 cofunctions with Los1 in primary tRNA nuclear export. Genes Dev. 2017 Nov 1;31(21):2186-2198. doi: 10.1101/gad.305904.117. Epub 2017 Dec 6. PMID: 29212662; PMCID: PMC5749166.
- Chatterjee K, Nostramo RT, Wan Y, Hopper AK. tRNA dynamics between the nucleus, cytoplasm and mitochondrial surface: Location, location, location. Biochim Biophys Acta Gene Regul Mech. 2018 Apr;1861(4):373-386. doi: 10.1016/j.bbagrm.2017.11.007. Epub 2017 Nov 28. PMID: 29191733; PMCID: PMC5882565.