Puja Kumari

Puja Kumari is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Binghamton University. Her research focuses on innate immune mechanisms against bacterial pathogens and host-pathogen interactions, particularly involving inflammasomes, caspases, and cytokine signaling. She investigates how pathogens evade immunity while exploring therapeutic strategies for infectious diseases.

Education: Postdoctoral training at the University of Connecticut Health School of Medicine (Farmington, CT, USA); PhD from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal (India); MSc from Madurai Kamaraj University (India); BSc from Ranchi University (India).

Research Interests: Innate immunity in infectious/inflammatory diseases, inflammasome signaling pathways, host-pathogen interactions, cytokine-mediated immune responses, and mechanisms of pyroptosis. Her lab studies molecular and cellular basis of pathogen detection, immune evasion strategies, and inflammation-driven disease outcomes like septic shock.

Research Trends: Recent articles focus on inflammasome regulation via extracellular vesicles, bacterial toxin interference with immune signaling, and cell-type specific roles of caspase-11 in sepsis. Work highlights both host defense mechanisms and pathological inflammation caused by excessive immune activation.

Awards: No specific honors listed. Grants and Advising: No detailed information provided in text. Lab/Teams: Directs research group exploring immune sensing mechanisms with potential applications in vaccine development and antimicrobial therapies.