Niranjan Parajuli (Nepali: निरञ्जन पराजुली) is a Nepali chemist, biochemist, and biotechnologist. He served as president of the Nepal Chemical Society from 2019 to 2021, and was a professor of chemistry at Tribhuvan University.Keinan, E. The 18th Asian Chemical Congress and the 20th General Assembly of the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies (FACS): December 8–12, 2019, Taipei International Convention Center, Taiwan. Israel Journal of Chemistry 2020, 60 (8–9), 907–934. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijch.202000075.तरकारीमा विषादी परीक्षणको नतिजा नै अविश्वसनीय. BBC News नेपाली. https://www.bbc.com/nepali/news-49113217 (accessed 2025-12-16). From March 2025 to March 2026, he worked as a research scientist at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, USA. His research focuses on microbial biotechnology,Je, W. P.; Hong, J. S. J.; Parajuli, N.; Won, S. J.; Sung, R. P.; Lim, S.-K.; Jae, K. S.; Yeo, J. Y. Genetic Dissection of the Biosynthetic Route to Gentamicin A2 by Heterologous Expression of Its Minimal Gene Set. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2008, 105 (24), 8399–8404. natural products,Joshi, S.; Huo, C.; Budhathoki, R.; Gurung, A.; Bhattarai, S.; Sharma, K. R.; Kim, K. H.; Parajuli, N. HPLC-ESI-HRMS/MS-Based Metabolite Profiling and Bioactivity Assessment of Catharanthus Roseus. Plants 2025, 14 (15), 2395. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14152395. protein engineeringParajuli, N.; Williams, G. J. A High-Throughput Screen for Directed Evolution of Aminocoumarin Amide Synthetases. Analytical Biochemistry 2011, 419 (1), 61–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ab.2011.07.037.Parajuli, N.; Lee, D.-S.; Lee, H. C.; Liou, K.; Sohng, J. K. Cloning, Expression and Characterization of Glucose-1-Phosphate Thymidylyltransferase (strmlA) from Thermus Caldophilus. Biotechnology Letters 2004, 26 (5), 437–442. and computational chemistry.Upadhyaya, S. R.; Bashyal, J.; Raut, B. K.; Parajuli, N. In Silico Study of Therapeutic Potential of Natural Polyphenol Derivatives Targeting Pancreatic Lipase. Discover Chemistry 2025, 2 (1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44371-025-00266-0.Raut, B. K.; Upadhyaya, S. R.; Bashyal, J.; Parajuli, N. In Silico and In Vitro Analyses to Repurpose Quercetin as a Human Pancreatic α-Amylase Inhibitor. ACS Omega 2023, 8 (46), 43617–43631. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.3c05082.Shrestha, A.; Upadhyaya, S. R.; Raut, B. K.; Bhattarai, S.; Sharma, K. R.; Parajuli, N.; Sohng, J. K.; Regmi, B. P. In Silico and In Vitro Analyses of Multiple Terpenes Predict Cryptotanshinone as a Potent Inhibitor of the Omicron Variant of SARS-CoV-2. Processes 2024, 12 (1), 230. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12010230.Shrestha, A.; Marahatha, R.; Regmi, B.; Dahal, S. R.; Basnyat, R. C.; Parajuli, N. Molecular Docking and Dynamics Simulation of Several Flavonoids Predict Cyanidin as an Effective Drug Candidate Against SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein. 2022. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1750425/v1.
Research Parajuli’s research focuses on microbial biotechnologyJe, W. P.; Hong, J. S. J.; Parajuli, N.; Won, S. J.; Sung, R. P.; Lim, S.-K.; Jae, K. S.; Yeo, J. Y. Genetic Dissection of the Biosynthetic Route to Gentamicin A2 by Heterologous Expression of Its Minimal Gene Set. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2008, 105 (24), 8399–8404., natural product discoveryBudhathoki, R.; Timilsina, A. P.; Regmi, B. P.; Sharma, K. R.; Aryal, N.; Parajuli, N. Metabolome Mining of Curcuma Longa L. Using HPLC-MS/MS and Molecular Networking. Metabolites 2023, 13 (8), 898. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo13080898., protein engineeringParajuli, N.; Williams, G. J. A High-Throughput Screen for Directed Evolution of Aminocoumarin Amide Synthetases. Analytical Biochemistry 2011, 419 (1), 61–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ab.2011.07.037., and computational chemistryUpadhyaya, S. R.; Bashyal, J.; Raut, B. K.; Parajuli, N. In Silico Study of Therapeutic Potential of Natural Polyphenol Derivatives Targeting Pancreatic Lipase. Discover Chemistry 2025, 2 (1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44371-025-00266-0.Raut, B. K.; Upadhyaya, S. R.; Bashyal, J.; Parajuli, N. In Silico and In Vitro Analyses to Repurpose Quercetin as a Human Pancreatic α-Amylase Inhibitor. ACS Omega 2023, 8 (46), 43617–43631. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.3c05082.Shrestha, A.; Upadhyaya, S. R.; Raut, B. K.; Bhattarai, S.; Sharma, K. R.; Parajuli, N.; Sohng, J. K.; Regmi, B. P. In Silico and In Vitro Analyses of Multiple Terpenes Predict Cryptotanshinone as a Potent Inhibitor of the Omicron Variant of SARS-CoV-2. Processes 2024, 12 (1), 230. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12010230.. His work includes genome miningPoudel, P. B.; Dhakal, D.; Magar, R. T.; Parajuli, N.; Sohng, J. K. Genome Mining and Genetic Manipulation Reveal New Isofuranonaphthoquinones in Nocardia Species. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2024, 25 (16), 8847. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25168847.Bridget, A. F.; Budhathoki, R.; Huo, C.; Joshi, S.; Parajuli, N.; Sohng, J. K.; Kim, K. H. Activation of Cryptic Biosynthetic Pathways in Saccharopolyspora Spinosa through Deletion of the Spinosyn Gene Cluster: Induction of Cryptic and Bioactive Natural Products. Archives of Pharmacal Research 2025, 48 (6), 514–527. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12272-025-01553-1., metabolomicsJoshi, S.; Huo, C.; Budhathoki, R.; Gurung, A.; Bhattarai, S.; Sharma, K. R.; Kim, K. H.; Parajuli, N. HPLC-ESI-HRMS/MS-Based Metabolite Profiling and Bioactivity Assessment of Catharanthus Roseus. Plants 2025, 14 (15), 2395. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14152395. and in silico studies of bioactive compoundsUpadhyaya, S. R.; Bashyal, J.; Raut, B. K.; Parajuli, N. In Silico Study of Therapeutic Potential of Natural Polyphenol Derivatives Targeting Pancreatic Lipase. Discover Chemistry 2025, 2 (1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44371-025-00266-0.Raut, B. K.; Upadhyaya, S. R.; Bashyal, J.; Parajuli, N. In Silico and In Vitro Analyses to Repurpose Quercetin as a Human Pancreatic α-Amylase Inhibitor. ACS Omega 2023, 8 (46), 43617–43631. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.3c05082.Shrestha, A.; Upadhyaya, S. R.; Raut, B. K.; Bhattarai, S.; Sharma, K. R.; Parajuli, N.; Sohng, J. K.; Regmi, B. P. In Silico and In Vitro Analyses of Multiple Terpenes Predict Cryptotanshinone as a Potent Inhibitor of the Omicron Variant of SARS-CoV-2. Processes 2024, 12 (1), 230. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr12010230.. He has published studies on antibiotic biosynthesis, secondary metabolites from plants and microorganisms, and therapeutic compound modeling. Awards and recognition Mahendra Vidya Bhushan A and B, Government of Nepal Science & Technology Youth Award, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology Brain Pool Fellowship, National Research Foundation of Korea Distinguished Professor Award, Biotechnology Society of Nepalनेपाली वैज्ञानिक प्रा. डा. निरन्जन पराजुली ‘Distinguished Professor Award’ बाट सम्मानित. https://bigyankhabar.com/. https://bigyankhabar.com/news/686 (accessed 2025-11-25). Listed among the world's top 2% of scientists in 2025 by Stanford University–Elsevier31 Nepali scientists included in the global ranking of best scientists. GorakhaPatra. https://risingnepaldaily.com/news/71025 (accessed 2025-11-25). Personal life Parajuli is married to journalist Madhabi Bhatta and has two sons. Selected publications Park, J.W., Hong, J.S.J., Parajuli, N., et al. “Genetic dissection of the biosynthetic route to gentamicin A2 by heterologous expression of its minimal gene set.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105, 8399–8404 (2008). Parajuli, N., Williams, G.J. “A high-throughput screen for directed evolution of aminocoumarin amide synthetases.” Analytical Biochemistry, 419, 61–66 (2011). Upadhyaya, S.R., Bashyal, J., Raut, B.K., Parajuli, N. “In silico study of therapeutic potential of natural polyphenol derivatives targeting pancreatic lipase.” Discover Chemistry, 2, 189 (2025). Joshi, S., Huo, C., Budhathoki, R., Gurung, A., Bhattarai, S., Sharma, K.R., Kim, K.H., Parajuli, N. “HPLC-ESI-HRMS/MS-Based Metabolite Profiling and Bioactivity Assessment of Catharanthus roseus.” Plants, 14, 2395 (2025).
References