(0172) 229 3152
headbiology@iisermohali.ac.in
I am interested in understanding how biological systems work and evolve to perform diverse tasks at the molecular level. Specifically, I focus on the “arms race” between bacteria and their pathogenic viruses (phages). This billion-year-old evolutionary arms race has resulted in myriad bacterial antiphage immune strategies and corresponding phage counter-immune strategies. Recent discoveries have revealed that many essential components of eukaryotic innate immunity—which serve as the primary defense against viral and bacterial infections—evolved from these bacterial antiphage defense systems. While over a hundred antiphage systems have been identified in bacteria, the precise molecular mechanisms governing phage infection sensing and neutralization remain unknown for most systems. Utilizing expertise in structural biology, biochemistry, and microbiology, my lab will focus on understanding the mechanisms underlying novel bacterial defense systems that share structural and functional similarities with components of eukaryotic innate immune pathways. These findings will advance our knowledge of the evolutionary relationship between bacterial antiphage and eukaryotic innate immune strategies. The mechanistic understanding of bacterial defense systems and the diverse phage-encoded factors that counteract them holds potential for engineering robust phages to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections and for developing new tools for genome engineering.
Structural Biology
Human Genomics
Biotechnology (Honours)
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER)- Mohali
Knowledge City, Sector 81, SAS nagar 140306, INDIA
headbiology@iisermohali.ac.in| +91 172 2240266
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