Rate My Professor Mukesh Dhanka

Mukesh Dhanka is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, a position he has held since June 2022. He directs the Biomaterials and Drug Delivery Laboratory, where his group develops advanced biomaterials targeting allograft implants, drug delivery systems, bio-nanotechnology, orthopedic applications, and regenerative medicine. The lab's interdisciplinary research tackles pressing clinical needs in joint disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, microbial infections, chronic diabetic wounds, autoimmune conditions, and allograft rejections, with an emphasis on translational healthcare solutions such as injectable hydrogels, nanoparticles, quantum dots, sprayable hydrogels, biomedical coatings, and bioplastics derived from natural sources like algae.

Dhanka obtained his BSc in Biotechnology from the University of Rajasthan in 2015 and both his MSc and PhD from IIT Bombay in 2019. His prior roles include Post-Doctoral Fellow and Bridging Postdoctoral Fellow at DBT-inStem, Bangalore, from March 2020 to May 2022, and Research Associate at IIT Bombay from June to December 2018. Key publications encompass 'Synthesis and characterization of an injectable microparticles integrated hydrogel composite biomaterial: In vivo biocompatibility and inflammatory arthritis treatment' in Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces (2021), 'Cefuroxime conjugated chitosan hydrogel for treatment of wound infections' in the same journal (2019), and 'Comprehensive Evaluation of Degradable and Cost-Effective Plasmonic Nanoshells for Localized Photothermolysis of Cancer Cells'. Dhanka has been honored with the Wilson Greatbatch Memorial Award at the INDO-TAIWAN BioHeal 2025 conference and the Young Scientist Award for Best Presentation in Life Sciences at NBRCOM 2025. His work fosters extensive collaborations with clinicians and researchers, advancing innovative biomedical technologies.