معرفی
Dr. Andrea Puhar is a Visiting Associate Professor at the Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Sweden. She serves as a Group Leader at Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS) and is affiliated with the Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR). Her research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of infection and inflammation, particularly the role of endogenous danger signals in bacterial pathogenesis.
Dr. Puhar's primary research centers on endogenous danger signals in infection and inflammation, with a specific focus on extracellular ATP (eATP) as a key mediator. Her groundbreaking work has shown that eATP plays a pivotal role during bacterial infection, acting as an early alert response from intestinal epithelial cells infected with pathogens like Shigella flexneri, Salmonella enterica, and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. She discovered that Shigella employs a sophisticated immune evasion strategy by injecting the bacterial enzyme IpgD into host cells, which produces PtdIns5P to close hemichannels and stop ATP secretion, thereby dampening the inflammatory response.
Her research bridges the molecular mechanisms regulating sterile inflammation and inflammation during infection, with three strategic research axes exploring eATP-dependent inflammation from both host and microbial perspectives. This work combines microbiology, immunology, and cell biology to identify novel targets for anti-inflammatory therapy. Recent publications demonstrate consistent contributions to understanding bacterial pathogenesis, host-pathogen interactions, and inflammatory mechanisms, with focus areas including antibacterial compounds, bacterial signal transduction systems, and the role of mechanosensors like PIEZO1 in immune signaling during infection.
- 50 million SEK research funding from Swedish Research Council for Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR)
- Highlighted work on "a new way to detect infection" through physical forces produced by bacterial infection
As a Group Leader at MIMS, Dr. Puhar oversees the "Andrea Puhar lab" which investigates the mechanism and inflammatory impact of extracellular ATP signaling in intestinal bacteria. Her current research project (2022-2024) continues to explore these critical aspects of host-pathogen interactions, building on her extensive publication record in high-impact journals including Immunity, Cell Reports, and PLOS ONE.
