Profile for Md Kausar Raza
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Md Kausar Raza
Assistant Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Md Kausar Raza
Assistant Professor
Chemistry & Biochemistry
Specialty area(s)
Bioinorganic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Metalloproteins and Metalloenzymes, Iron-Sulfur [Fe-S] Proteins, Viral Pathogenesis, Metals in Medicine, Photodynamic Therapy
Brief biography
Dr. Md Kausar Raza is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL). His research focuses on bioinorganic chemistry, metalloproteins, and metal-based chromophores and complexes in biological and medical contexts. His laboratory develops redox-active metal chromophores for hypoxia-resistant photomedicine and investigates iron-sulfur [Fe-S] cluster-containing proteins involved in human disease and viral pathogenesis. Current projects include the design, synthesis, and characterization of metal-based photosensitizers for imaging, photodynamic therapy, and photodynamic immunotherapy.
Before joining UWL, Dr. Raza was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Haverford College and a Visiting Research Scientist at Brandeis University. He conducted postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and subsequently held an Eberly Research Fellowship at Penn State (Penn State) University. He earned his Ph.D. in (Bio)Inorganic Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and his M.Sc. (Inorganic major) and B.Sc. (Honors) in Chemistry from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India.
Dr. Raza serves as an Editorial Board Member of Scientific Reports (Springer Nature) and an Academic Editor of Bioinorganic Chemistry and Applications (Wiley). He is a recipient of the Springer Nature Editor of Distinction Award and the Editorial Contribution Award in recognition of his service to the scientific community and commitment to research excellence.
See more details at the Research Group Website. Research Group Website!
Current courses at UWL
General Chemistry I – CHM 103 (Lecture and Laboratory)
Introductory course covering fundamental principles of chemical measurement, structure, and reactivity, with integrated lecture and laboratory components. Offered every Fall and Spring.
Education
Ph.D. (Bio)Inorganic Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India
M.Sc. Chemistry, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
B.Sc. (Honors) Chemistry, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India
Career
Teaching history
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (2025-Present)
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Haverford College (2024-2025)
Professional history
Visiting Research Scientist, Brandeis University, Massachusetts
Eberly Research Fellow, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania
Postdoctoral Research Associate, California Institute of Technology, California
Research and publishing
- Kumar, A. Raza, M. K.*
- Degrading Resistance on Command: LAMP-D Reframes Targeted Protein Degradation as a Photochemical Problem. ChemMedChem. 2026, 21, e70344. (*corresponding author).
- Banaspati, B.; Das, A.; Sultana, J. P.; Raza, M. K.; Goswami, T. K. Mn(III) Porphyrins as Photosensitizers: Structural, Photophysical and Anticancer Studies. Dalton Trans. 2025, 54, 11743-11756. (co-corresponding author).
- Bag, G.; Musib, D.; Raza, M. K.; Castonguay, A.; Roy, M. Recent Advances on the Photo-Chemotherapeutic Potential of Manganese Carbonyl Complexes. Polyhedron 2024, 249, 116778.
- Maio, N.; Raza, M. K.; Li, Y.; Zhang, D.-L.; Bollinger, J. M., Jr.; Krebs, C.; Rouault, T. A. An Iron-Sulfur Cluster in the Zinc-Binding Domain of the SARS-CoV-2 Helicase Modulates Its RNA Binding and Unwinding Activities. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2023, 120, e2303860120. (Highlighted in NIH News).
- Salay+, L. E.; Blee+, A. M.; Raza+, M. K.; Gallagher, K. S.; Chen, H.; Dorfeuille, A. J.; Barton, J. K.; Chazin, W. J. Modification of the 4Fe-4S Cluster Charge Transport Pathway Alters RNA Synthesis by Yeast DNA Primase. Biochemistry 2022, 61, 1113-1123. (+Equal first author).
- Musib, D.; Ramu, V.; Raza, M. K.; Upadhyay, A.; Pal, M.; Roy, M. La(iii)-curcumin-functionalized gold nanocomposite as a red light-activatable mitochondria-targeting PDT agent† Inorg. Chem. Front., 2022, 9, 686-701.
- Raza, M. K.; Gautam, S.; Howlader, P.; Bhattacharyya, A.; Kondaiah, P.; Chakravarty, A. R. Pyriplatin-Boron-Dipyrromethene Conjugates for Imaging and Mitochondria-Targeted Photodynamic Therapy. Inorg. Chem. 2018, 57 , 14374-14385.
- Raza, M. K.; Gautam, S.; Garai, A.; Mitra, K.; Kondaiah, P.; Chakravarty, A. R. Monofunctional BODIPY-Appended Imidazoplatin for Cellular Imaging and Mitochondria-Targeted Photocytotoxicity. Inorg. Chem. 2017, 56, 11019-11029.
- Raza, M. K.*; Karges, J. (2025). Iron-Sulfur Clusters in Viral Diseases. In Encyclopedia of Inorganic and Bioinorganic Chemistry, R.A. Scott (Ed.). (Book Chapter).
- Chakravarty, A. R.; Raza, M. K.; Gandhi, A.; Kondaiah, P. Platinum-Based Boron Dipyrromethene Compound and Method Thereof. Indian Patent, IN37834440, Granted (WIPO).