Rokeya Sultana Rekha

Rokeya Sultana Rekha is a Research Specialist at Karolinska Institutet's Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Clinical Immunology, where she has been employed since 2021. She is an active member of the Peter Bergman Research Group (The AMP-group), focusing on Primary Immunodeficiency, Innate Immunity, and Antimicrobial peptides research.

Dr. Rekha earned her PhD in 2015 from Karolinska Institutet with a dissertation titled 'Role of antimicrobial peptides in tuberculosis and respiratory tract infections: clinical and mechanistic studies.' Her research spans immunology, infectious diseases, and host-pathogen interactions, with particular expertise in tuberculosis and antimicrobial peptide function.

Her research interests center on innate immunity mechanisms, antimicrobial peptides (particularly LL-37), host-directed therapies for infectious diseases, and the immunological aspects of tuberculosis. She has made significant contributions to understanding how host immune responses can be modulated to combat multidrug-resistant pathogens, with work spanning from basic molecular mechanisms to clinical applications.

Analysis of her publication record reveals a consistent focus on translating basic immunological discoveries into potential therapeutic approaches, particularly for tuberculosis treatment. Her work bridges fundamental immunology with clinical applications, with increasing emphasis on host-directed therapies as alternatives or complements to traditional antibiotics.

Dr. Rekha has established extensive collaborative networks across multiple institutions, reflected in her numerous co-authored publications in high-impact journals across immunology, infectious diseases, and molecular biology fields.

Her research methodology spans from in vitro cellular studies to clinical trials, demonstrating versatility in experimental approaches to address complex immunological questions related to infectious disease pathogenesis and treatment.