Ankit Malik

Ankit Malik is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine, affiliated with the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. His research focuses on mucosal immunity, specifically how immune responses at gastrointestinal surfaces distinguish between pathogens, commensals, and environmental antigens, and how dysregulation leads to inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and gastrointestinal cancers. His interdisciplinary work combines immunology, genetic engineering, microbiology, and bioinformatics.

Research Focus

Dr. Malik’s lab investigates intestinal immune homeostasis, immune tolerance breakdown in inflammatory diseases, and chronic inflammation-driven carcinogenesis. Key projects include:

• Mapping cellular pathways that maintain gut immune balance
• Elucidating mechanisms linking gut inflammation to cancer
• Developing translational models for IBD and sepsis

Publications

His work spans immune signaling (e.g., IFNγ, TNF/TNFR, SYK-CARD9), inflammasome biology, and microbiome research. Recent contributions include studies on:

• 2023: Epithelial IFNγ signaling in gut immunity
• 2022: Autoimmune neuropathy after Campylobacter infection
• 2020: Microbiota restoration in sepsis