Surbhi Chitnis

Surbhi Chitnis, 4th year PhD student in Dr. Heppner's lab.

Publications

• Chitnis, S.P., Wittlinger, F., Möllers, M., Hartman, T.J., Günther, M., Eck, M.J., Laufer, S.A., and Heppner, D.E. (2025), Structure–Activity Relationships of Inactive-Conformation Binding EGFR Inhibitors: Linking the ATP and Allosteric Pockets. Archiv der Pharmazie, 358: e70027.
• Damghani, T., Chitnis, S.P., Abidakun, O.A., Lin, K., Ouellette, E., Lantry, A., and Heppner, D.E. (2025), Profiling and optimizing targeted covalent inhibitors through EGFR-guided studies. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, (In press).
• Wittlinger, F., Chitnis, S.P., Pham, C.D., Damghani, T., Patel, K.B., Möllers, M., Schaeffner, I.K., Abidakun, O.A., Deng, M.Q., Ogboo, B.C., Rasch, A., Beyett, T.S., Bukley, B., Feru, F., Shaurova, T., Knappe, C., Eck, M., Hershberger, P. A., Scott, D.A., Brandt, A.L., Laufer, S.A., and Heppner, D.E. (2024), Tilting the Scales toward EGFR Mutant Selectivity: Expanding the Scope of Bivalent “Type V” Kinase Inhibitors. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 67 (23), 21438-21469.
• Wittlinger, F.*, Ogboo, B.C.*, Shevchenko, E., Damghani, T., Pham, C.D., Schaeffner, I.K., Oligny, B.T., Chitnis, S.P., Beyett, T.S., Rasch, A. Buckley, B., Urul, D.A., Shaurova, T., May, E.W., Schafer, E.M., Eck, M.J., Hershberger, P.A, Poso, A., Laufer, S.A., and Heppner, D.E. (2024), Linking ATP and allosteric sites to achieve superadditive binding with bivalent EGFR kinase inhibitors. Communications Chemistry, 7(1), p.38.
• Bhattacharjee, D., Bakar, J., Chitnis S.P., Sausville, E.L., Ashtekar, K.D., Mendelson, B.E., Long, K., Smith, J.C., Heppner, D.E., and Sheltzer, J.M. (2023), Inhibition of a lower potency target drives the anticancer activity of a clinical p38 inhibitor. Cell Chemical Biology, 30(10):1211–1222.

Oral presentations

• Department of Structural Biology & Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (HWI) Seminar Series 2025: Unlocking the Potential of Trisubstituted Imidazoles as EGFR inhibitors: Enhancing potency and selectivity through bivalent site binding.
• Buffalo Protein Science Seminar 2022: Structure-activity relationship-guided exploration of isoindolinone-derived pockets-spanning EGFR inhibitors.

Poster presentations

• American Chemical Society Meeting Spring 2025: Studies of structure-activity relationships of mutant-selective EGFR ATP-allosteric bivalent inhibitors.
• 41^st Chemistry Graduate Student Symposium 2024 (First Place Winner): Studies of structure-activity relationships of mutant-selective EGFR ATP-allosteric bivalent inhibitors.

My research focuses on the structure-guided design and functional characterization of small-molecule inhibitors targeting oncogenic kinases. By integrating biochemical, cellular, and structural approaches, I aim to advance targeted therapies for cancer.

I’ve enjoyed being a graduate student at UB because of the collaborative research environment, strong mentorship, and access to cutting-edge resources that have supported my growth as a scientist. What I value most is the strong sense of community and the emphasis on scientific excellence, both of which have deeply shaped my graduate training.

Outside of lab, I love spending time with friends, exploring new places to eat, and winding down with a good Netflix series. Cooking and reading are also go-to ways for me to unwind after a busy day in the lab.