Atharva Tilewale

Atharva Tilewale

Bioinformatician & Computational Biologist

I am a computational and experimental biotechnologist interested in protein engineering, enzyme design, molecular simulations, and AI-driven biotechnology.
My current research focuses on improving enzyme thermostability using structure-guided methods, molecular dynamics, and free-energy-based analysis. Alongside research, I enjoy developing open-source computational tools and workflows that make structural biology and bioinformatics more accessible and efficient.
My long-term goal is to contribute to computational protein engineering and translational molecular design through research that combines scientific depth with practical impact.

Research Interests

Areas where biology meets computation

Protein Engineering DeNovo Protein Design Molecular Dynamics Structural Bioinformatics Machine Learning in Biology Drug Discovery Pipeline Development Protein Structure Prediction Scientific Software Development

Education & Experience

My academic and research journey

Mar 2026 - Present

Visiting Research Student

University of Edinburgh, UK

Master's dissertation with Michel Group. Focus: enzyme thermostability enhancement using molecular dynamics and alchemical free energy calculations.

May 2025 - Aug 2025

Summer Research Fellow

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai

IASc-INSA-NASI Fellowship. Research on DNA-binding proteins in Deinococcus radiodurans and radiation resistance mechanisms.

2024 - Present

Master's in Biotechnology

Gujarat Biotechnology University

  • Dissertation research in CxBL Lab on rational protein engineering using AI embeddings and free energy calculations for enzyme design
  • Developing AI assisted protein engineering pipeline for zero shot stable mutant prediction
2021 - 2024

Bachelor's in Biotechnology

Savitribai Phule Pune University

Computational screening of phytochemicals for drug candidates targeting 5-alpha reductase.

Technical Skills

Tools and technologies I work with

Programming

  • Python
  • R
  • Bash/Shell
  • JavaScript
  • HTML
  • CSS

Bioinformatics

  • BioPython
  • Schrodinger
  • GROMACS
  • RoseTTA
  • BoltzGen
  • RFDiffusion
  • OpenMM
  • BindCraft
  • PyMOL
  • AlphaFold/Boltz

Data Science

  • Pandas/NumPy
  • Scikit-learn
  • Matplotlib/Seaborn
  • Jupyter Notebooks
  • Statistical Analysis

DevOps & Tools

  • Git/GitHub
  • Docker
  • Linux/Unix
  • HPC
  • Flask
  • Nextflow
  • Snakemake
  • VS Code

Awards & Recognition

Hackathon victories and professional recognition

1st Prize
Mar 2026

Edinburgh Biohackathon 2026

Organized by: PRIMED Edinburgh

University: University of Edinburgh, UK

Won first prize in the Fibre Synthesis Challenge hosted by Quas Drinks Ltd, titled "The Sugar Spinner: Engineering a Plug-and-Play Biological System for In-Situ Fibre Synthesis."

Bioinformatics Computational Biology Innovation
1st Prize
Dec 2025

ML for Protein Design Hackathon

Organized by: Locksmith Bio x IBAB Bangalore

Theme: De Novo Antibody Design

Won first prize in engineering next-generation immune checkpoint therapeutics against PD-1/PD-L1.

Machine Learning De Novo Protein Design Antibody Engineering
Fellowship
May 2025 - Aug 2025

IASc-INSA-NASI Summer Research Fellowship Program (SRFP) 2025

Institute: Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), Mumbai

Selected fellow for conducting research on Deinococcus radiodurans DNA-binding proteins and radiation resistance at BARC.

Research Protein Biology Experimental Work
Internship
2025

Summer Research Internship Program (SRIP) 2025

Institution: IIT Gandhinagar

Selected fellow for the prestigious Summer Research Internship Program 2025.

Research Internship Computational Research Prestigious Program

Research Philosophy

What drives my work

"I believe that the future of biology lies in the seamless integration of wet-lab experiments and computational analysis. By building accessible, open-source tools, we can democratize scientific research and accelerate discoveries that benefit humanity."
— Atharva Tilewale

Interested in Collaborating?

I'm always open to discussing new research ideas, tool development, or collaborative projects.

Get In Touch View Publications