Career

Polymicrobial infections, where multiple microbial species co-infect a host, often exhibit synergistic interactions that enhance the collective pathogenicity. The thesis will study neutrophil- modulated fungal-bacterial and fungal-fungal interactions involving metals, metallophores, and metalloproteins, which are the critical molecular players of all parties in the tussle. The prospective student will investigate the physicochemical dimensions of the microbe and host molecules at the inflammation site using metal-linked native mass spectrometry, metabolomics, imaging, and immunoassays. In in vitro studies, the student will define critical infection processes at the intramolecular, molecular, intracellular, and intercellular levels. Biomolecular interactions established in vitro will be studied in human body fluids or biopsies. The thesis will demonstrate the non-canonical roles of host and pathogenic metal-derived molecular players. Through the molecular mechanisms underlying polymicrobial infections to identify novel host cellular targets for microbial antigens.