Prithu Sundd

Prithu Sundd, PhD is a Senior Investigator at Versiti Blood Research Institute and holds dual professorships at Medical College of Wisconsin as Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology.

Education:

• Doctor of Philosophy from Ohio University
• Postdoctoral Fellow at La Jolla Institute of Immunology

Dr. Sundd's research focuses on understanding innate immune pathways in neutrophils and platelets, and extracellular vesicle-dependent intercellular communication that promote pulmonary thrombo-inflammation in Sickle Cell Disease, joint damage in Hemophilia, and cigarette smoke-induced flu severity. His lab utilizes advanced techniques including Multi-Photon-Excitation fluorescence intravital microscopy, ex vivo microfluidic studies with patient blood, and characterization of extracellular vesicles.

Analysis of Dr. Sundd's recent publications reveals a consistent focus on thrombo-inflammatory mechanisms across multiple disease contexts, particularly in sickle cell disease. His work spans fundamental biomechanics of cell interactions to translational studies exploring therapeutic interventions. A significant portion of his research examines the liver-lung axis in sickle cell complications, the role of extracellular vesicles in disease pathogenesis, and the impact of environmental factors like cigarette smoke on disease severity.

Dr. Sundd currently serves as Contact PI on multiple major grants including NHLBI R01 HL128297 (2015-2025), NHLBI R01 HL166345 (2023-2027), American Heart Association 23TPA1074022 (2023-2026), and CSL Behring Inc Research Acceleration Initiative (2021-2026). His mentorship has produced several successful independent investigators including Dr. Margaret Bennewitz (Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, West Virginia University) and Dr. Tomasz Brzoska (Assistant Professor of Medicine at University of Pittsburgh).

The Sundd Lab maintains an active research program with current members including Research Scientist II Tomasz Kaminski, Postdoctoral Fellows Manikanta and Ayyanar Sivanantham, Senior Tech Nicholas Swendrowski, and Research Scientist I Marta Wolosowicz. The lab's sophisticated imaging and microfluidic capabilities enable groundbreaking research on blood cell interactions in living organisms.