​​​​Abhisek Dwivedy

I am a Bioengineer and Structural Biologist working at the frontier of DNA Nanotechnology, Precision Therapeutics, Aptamer Engineering and Molecular Design. Currently based at the Nucleic Acids Programming Laboratory (UIUC), my research focuses on engineering Designer DNA Architectures (DDA) to create programmable, high-precision nanomachines for targeted cancer therapy and selective pathogen theranostics.​

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My professional trajectory is defined by bridging computational innovation with experimental biology. I led the development of APIPred and APIPred Web, a machine-learning platform and a webserver for target based aptamer prediction, designed to accelerate aptamer discovery. I have contributed significantly to viral research by functionally characterizing the kinase-like activity of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA polymerase NIRAN domain- work that directly aided in identifying cancer drug candidates for repurposing in COVID-19.​

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With a doctoral foundation in deciphering the role of bacterial histidine biosynthesis in Tuberculosis host–pathogen dynamics, I now leverage the structural and immuno-metabolic interplay of various malignancies to develop DNA-nanotech-derived biomaterials. By integrating my expertise across these diverse fields, I aim to build robust "smart" biomaterials that address the unmet needs in oncology and infectious disease through molecular-level engineering.