Charley Chatterjee

I am currently a Principal Lecturer in Pharmacology which involves teaching a wide range of students from first-year undergraduates to senior postgraduates. These include undergraduate students on BSc and MPharm courses in the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences as well as students at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School. My postgraduate teaching involves giving lectures to students on several MSc courses and well as Diploma Pharmacy and Industrial Science students and also Independent Prescribers and Nurses.

My areas of teaching range from Introductory Pharmacology and Renal Physiology and Pharmacology right through to lectures on Mechanisms of Disease. My teaching is also supported by presentations to research colleagues, at local, national and international conferences and also at fund-raising events for national charities which support my research. I also have a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCertHE), awarded by the University of Brighton in 2004 , and am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). In 2011, I was “Highly Commended” as “The Most Supportive Postgraduate Tutor/Supervisor” at the Brighton Students’ Union Excellence Awards.

I have over 10 years of teaching experience and I am a strong believer in research-informed teaching based on over 20 years of research. My teaching style involves breaking down complex subjects into basic components and then building these back up to help develop an understanding of the material being taught. I try to make my lectures as interesting as possible and relevant by linking the subject matter to current news, events and the most recent research. This means that my lectures are quite visual and involve a lot of images with less text. Teaching with enthusiasm also helps! I also believe that practical experience reinforces learning so my teaching is supported by practical classes and opportunities to undertake research. This research style seems to suit the majority of my students and the feedback obtained has often been highly positive. However, I am always looking for ways to improve my teaching and am willing to try out different formats and introduce new concepts.

My research involves investigation and understanding of the cellular mechanisms underlying the development of AKI and CKD (including diabetic kidney disease) along with investigation of novel pharmacological and therapeutic interventions.

Specifically, my research areas include (i) all aspects of renal physiology, pharmacology, injury and disease, (ii) development of models of acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) including diabetic kidney disease, (iii) investigation of the cellular mechanisms underlying the development of renal failure and disease, (iv) the role of oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress in the development of renal failure and disease and (v) development and characterisation of novel pharmacological interventions against ischemic and nephrotoxic renal failure and diabetic nephropathy.

On-going research projects:

The Role of Dietary Antioxidants and Steroids Encapsulated in Polylactic Acid Nanoparticles against Oxidant-Induced Acute Kidney Injury (PhD research project)

Investigation of the Antioxidant Activities of Established and Novel Anti-Diabetic Treatments (MPharm research projects)

Previous research projects:

A Pilot Study to Investigate the Effects of Oral Mesoporous Carbon on Organic Azotaemic Toxins and Chronic Kidney Disease (Innovation Project Grant funded by Kidney Research UK – Lead Investigator: Dr PK Chatterjee)

The protective effects of caffeine and its metabolites in renal cell cultures exposed to paraquat (Intercalating Student Award from Kidney Research UK awarded to Sarah Dyball)

An Investigation of Ethanol Preconditioning of Rat Renal NRK-52E Cells (Intercalating Student Award from Kidney Research UK awarded to Rachel Morris)

Oxidant and antioxidant effects of fetuin-A/α2-Heremans-Schmid glycoprotein (AHSG) and its transport across renal proximal tubular epithelial cells (Intercalating Student Award from Kidney Research UK awarded to Luke Holland)

Oxidative and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in the Kidney (PhD studentship joint award to Elias Katsoulieris by Kidney Research UK and Diabetes UK)

An Investigation of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Renal Proximal Tubular Cells and its Relevance to Nephrotoxic Acute Renal Failure. (Wellcome Trust Vacation Scholarship Awarded to Alex Dunn)

Novel Superoxide Dismutase Mimetics for Protection against Paraquat Nephrotoxicity (PhD studentship awarded to Mohamed Samai by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission)

My research interests involve investigation of the mechanisms involved in development of acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease. I'm particularly interested in development of new antioxidants as preventative treatments.

Current and previous PhD students:

Kauther Layas (2018-2021): The Role of Dietary Antioxidants and Steroids Encapsulated in Polylactic Acid Nanoparticles against Oxidant-Induced Acute Kidney Injury

Benjamin Elisha-Lambert (2013-2016): An Investigation into the Effects of Dietary Antioxidants against Oxidant Induced Acute Kidney Injury

Oke-Oghene Akpoveso (2013-2016): An Investigation of the Antioxidant and Antidiabetic Effect of Aqueous Leaf Extracts of Mucuna Pruriens

Martin Ford (2008 – 2012): The Role of Calcification Regulatory Proteins in the Arterial Stiffening of Chronic Kidney Disease Stages 3 & 4

Mary El-Assal (2008 – 2012): Modulation of Cardiovascular Function by Pharmacological Treatments for HIV/AIDS

Sevelanne Gordon (2007 – 2011): Neuromodulation of Inflammatory Lung Disease

Elias Katsoulieris (2006 – 2009): Oxidative and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in the Kidney

Mohamed Samai (2004 – 2007): Novel Superoxide Dismutase Mimetics for Protection against Paraquat Nephrotoxicity.