The research in our lab is broadly directed at understanding the immune pathogenic mechanisms of vector-borne diseases caused by dengue and the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). The immunopathogenic mechanisms that drive disease progression are ill-understood. Among the immune cells, neutrophils are the body's first line of defense against infection and display plasticity, with the ability to adapt themselves in different inflammatory scenarios.

Our recent studies showed that viral infection significantly impacts neutrophil biogenesis and phenotypes (J Leukocyte Biology, 2023a, b). However, there is a lack of in-depth knowledge of the phenotypic heterogeneity of immune cells that arise due to viral infection.

Also, how these phenotypic changes are related to cell fate decisions in imparting adverse disease outcomes is unclear. In our lab, we use the JEV and dengue virus as prototype models to study the impact of neutrophil phenotypes on infection and immunity.

We are also interested in developing suitable models (small animal model, cell line, 3D organoid model) to study host-pathogen interaction at the interface of identifying immune modulators and antivirals.

Our lab is also interested in using extracellular vesicles to understand disease biology and novel interventions in viral infection.