Mukta Deobagkar

I study B cell function and responses, specifically in the context of antigen-dependent B cell selection during development and upon immune challenge. I have an interest in understanding how antigen influences B cell activation, B and T cell interactions and the generation of immune memory. I am particularly interested in the how B cells discriminate signal quality and quantity, and how signal thresholds influence downstream molecular events and determine immune cell fate. In the long term, I would like to better understand how antigen form and context regulates immune cell development, selection and response in disease and health.

I did my PhD from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India during which I was awarded the CSIR-India Shyama Prasad Mukherjee JRF/SRF for a period of 5 years. I investigated the role of cell death and inflammation during immune responses. Using a Salmonella Typhimurium infection model of thymic atrophy, I identified inflammatory and glucocorticoid-dependent signals that lead to phenotypic changes and infection-induced lymphocyte death. During this period, I also established and used a bacterial septic shock model to study the roles of NOS2 and IFNgamma during pathogen-mediated host inflammatory responses. We also developed an FTIR/Raman spectroscopy assay for identification of biomarkers during acute sepsis and during acetaminophen-induced liver injury.