Research
Host-microbial crosstalk at the epithelial interface
Vision:
My vision is to discover and explore new and interesting concepts in biology by creating a productive, friendly and collaborative environment. I envision studying research problems that continuously push scientific boundaries while developing education and communication tools that make these advances accessible to students, scientific community and the society. These goals can be achieved by pursuing novel research directions, developing new scientific tools, engaging in multi-disciplinary projects, and conducting open science while engaging with society on social, cultural and political issues using education platforms.
Research problem:
What are the consequences of host-microbiome interactions on host physiology?
The human skin is colonized by millions of microbes (bacteria, viruses, fungi) that exist in synergy with our skin. These constitute the skin microbiome. Perturbation of these microbial communities, referred to as dysbiosis, is linked with shift from healthy to diseased states. Whether such changes are causal, consequential, or bystanders to disease is, for the most part, unresolved. In the last decade several efforts have been made to catalogue the composition of the skin microbiome. However, our understanding of the biological contributions of skin microbiome towards skin physiology remain sparse. The overall goal of my research is to develop experimental frameworks to understand host-microbial interactions that will inform future directions to improve human health.
