Bharati Mitra

Bharati Mitra is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Wayne State University School of Medicine. She earned her Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1990. Her research program investigates trace metal homeostasis in biological systems, focusing on transporters for zinc, cadmium, lead, and other metals. She employs multidisciplinary approaches including protein biochemistry, structural biology, kinetics, and spectroscopy to study metal-related disease mechanisms, particularly in cancer.

Dr. Mitra's research explores:

• Molecular mechanisms of metal transport proteins
• Structural characterization of membrane transporters
• Links between metal dysregulation and diseases (cancer, neurological disorders)
• Environmental metal toxicity and cancer risk disparities

Her laboratory utilizes genetic engineering, ICP-MS, stopped-flow kinetics, fluorescence spectroscopy, and protein structure determination.

Her recent publications (2012-2021) demonstrate strong focus on:

• Metal transporter structure-function relationships
• Prostate cancer links to cadmium/lead exposure
• Proteasome biology in metal toxicity
• Structural enzymology of metal-dependent proteins
• Ethnic disparities in metal-related cancer risks

Dr. Mitra teaches graduate courses including Protein Structure and Function and Core Concepts in Technologies in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She is currently accepting Master's students for 2024 but not PhD candidates. No awards or specific research grants are mentioned in the source material.