Uttara was born in Kolkata, West Bengal. She completed her bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Presidency College, Kolkata and moved to Bangalore to pursue the Integrated-PhD program in the Chemical Science division at the Indian Institute of Science. During her PhD in the group of Prof. Chakravarty, she developed iron-based photosensitizers that could be excited with near-IR light for photodymanic therapy. After completion of her PhD, she did her postdoctoral research in the United States with Prof. Dhar, where the team developed therapeutic, biodegradable nano-formulations against cancers, brain diseases and viral infections. She then moved to Paris, in the team of Prof. Gasser, where she developed economically viable photosensitizers. She was a visiting scientist in the group of Prof. Kortz in Germany and later, she joined the group of Prof. Ott where she worked on organometallic gold complexes as anticancer and antimicrobial agents.
 

She joined the Chemistry Department at BITS-Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus in May 2022 as an Assistant Professor.

 

Uttara enjoys travelling, reading novels and good food.