Venkata Chandrasekhar Nainala

NFDI4Chem Lead Software Engineer

Chandu is Lead Scientific Architect and Full Stack Developer at NFDI4Chem, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Trained in pharmaco-informatics, he loves programming and applying technology to real-world problems, with a strong eye for minimalist design. His team builds FAIR data repositories and supporting tools, with a focus on reusability and long-term sustainability, including migrating services to the cloud.

Current projects:

nmrXiv: FAIR, consensus-driven NMR data repository and computational platform.
Website: http://www.nmrxiv.org/
GitHub: https://github.com/NFDI4Chem/nmrxiv

nmrKit: Features a collection of powerful microservices designed to simplify your NMR data processing and analysis
Website: https://nfdi4chem.github.io/nmrkit/introduction.html
GitHub: https://github.com/NFDI4Chem/nmrkit

Coconut: COlleCtion of Open Natural ProdUcTs
Website: https://coconut.naturalproducts.net
GitHub: https://github.com/steinbeck-Lab/coconut

Cloud-Surge: Infinite parallel computation of chemical spaces in cloud environments with surge
Website: https://steinbeck-lab.github.io/cloud-surge/
GitHub: https://github.com/Steinbeck-Lab/cloud-surge

Cheminformatics-Microservice: Unifying access to open cheminformatics toolkits through microservices architecture
Website: https://docs.api.naturalproducts.net/
GitHub: https://github.com/Steinbeck-Lab/cheminformatics-microservice

Chandu holds a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and a Master’s in Pharmaco-informatics from NIPER, India. He started his career as an intern at EMBL-EBI in Cambridge under Prof. Christoph Steinbeck. There he worked with Syngenta Limited on statistical models, built with NWChem, that predict one-bond carbon–proton (¹J_CH) coupling constants.

In 2015 he turned his skills toward technology and data-science problems, joining the MetaboLights team as a software developer. He improved many functional and design aspects of the MetaboLights web interface. Later, under the guidance of Claire O’Donovan, he led the project and built a new submission portal and the MetaboLights Online Editor (MOE). This browser-based tool lets users create ISA-Tab metadata either through a guided submission wizard or from the Study Overview. It later served as the basis for NASA GeneLab’s submission system.

In 2015, he decided to apply his skills to tackle technology and data-science-focused problems. He joined the MetaboLights team as a software developer and contributed to improving various functional and design elements of the MetaboLights web interface. Under the guidance of Claire O’Donovan, he led the MetaboLights project and developed a new MetaboLights submission portal and online editor (MOE). This web browser interface allows users to develop ISA-tab metadata sets via a guided submission ‘wizard’ or the ‘Study Overview’. This interface was later the basis for developing the NASA Gene Lab.

In 2021 he moved to Jena, Germany, to join NFDI4Chem, where he leads the software development team building national research data infrastructure for chemistry.

Outside work, he enjoys building machine-learning models, watching films and flying drones. His interests include AI/ML, blockchain-based web protocols and decentralised (Web3) applications.