Pooja Jain

Pooja Jain, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at Drexel University College of Medicine, with a joint appointment in Neurobiology & Anatomy. She co-directs the Master of Science in Immunology Program and chairs the 2024 Biennial Conference on Retrovirology. Her research focuses on retrovirus-associated cancers (e.g., HTLV-1/HTLV-2), neuroinflammation mechanisms, and exosome biology.

Education:

• PhD - Microbiology, Central Drug Research Institute, India (2001)
• MS - Biology, CSJM Kanpur University (India)
• BS - Biology/Chemistry, CSJM Kanpur University (India)

Research Interests:

• Risk factors for AIDS-related lymphomas linked to EBV and ART use
• MEF-2 signaling as a therapeutic target for HTLV-1-induced ATLL
• Role of exosomes/ESCRT machinery in HTLV-1 neuroinflammation (HAM/TSP)

Her work investigates immune checkpoint modulation, exosome cargo dynamics, and drug repurposing (e.g., apigenin) to combat retroviral diseases.

Awards & Honors:

• AAI Travel Awards (2022-2024)
• Elected AOA Medical Honor Society (2023)
• 20-year Drexel Service Award (2023)

Advising & Grants:

• Advises graduate students Salwa Ahmed (MS) and Noor Qureshi (MD)
• Recipient of NIH/NIDA grants and institutional funding
• Leads SKCC HIV-Cancer Team 4 collaborations

Labs & Affiliations:

Member of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center’s Immune Cell Regulation Program, American Society for Exosomes and Microvesicles, and multiple retrovirology societies. Her lab studies HTLV-1 pathogenesis using exosome isolation, CRISPR-Cas9, and in vivo imaging of myeloid cell trafficking.