Sonal Srikanth

Sonal Srikanth is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Physiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA. Her research focuses on calcium signaling pathways in immune cells, particularly the regulation of store-operated Ca²⁺ entry via Orai/STIM proteins. She investigates mechanisms underlying immune cell activation, innate immunity, and cancer stemness. Her work has identified novel roles for large Rab GTPases like CRACR2A and Orai proteins in T cell receptor signaling and host defense. Dr. Srikanth has received multiple awards, including the American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant and the Boyer-Peter Award for postdoctoral excellence.

Education: PhD in Genetics and Biophysics from National Center for Biological Sciences (NCBS), India (2004). Postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School and UCLA under Dr. Anjana Rao and Dr. Yousang Gwack.

Research grants include NIH funding for projects on STING pathway regulation and Orai protein functions in T cells. Her lab explores calcium signaling in immunity and disease, with recent studies on SARS-CoV-2 infection mechanisms and cancer stem cell biology.