Mukesh Kumar
Interim Director of Molecular Basis of Disease, Associate Professor Biology- Education
PhD Medical Virology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii 2013
MS Medical Virology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii 2009
DVM College of Veterinary Sciences, Mhow, India 2007
- Specializations
Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases, SARS-COV-2, West Nile Virus and Zika Virus
- Biography
Mukesh Kumar is a virologist and immunologist with expertise in the studies of RNA virus/host interactions. Kumar’s major area of research interest is to identify novel therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers for emerging infectious diseases, which include COVID-19, West Nile virus encephalitis and Zika virus-associated neurological disease. His lab is studying the pathogenic mechanisms underlying the development of brain dysfunction during neurotropic virus infection.
Lab Information
Lab Telephone: 404-413-5334 / 404-413-5373
Lab Location: 534/589 Petit Science Center (PSC)
Lab Members Position Email Anchala Guglani Post-Doctoral Fellow [email protected] Janhavi Natekar Graduate Student [email protected] Amany Elsharkawy Graduate Student [email protected] Shannon Stone Graduate Student [email protected] Heather Pathak Graduate Student [email protected] Lila Patterson Graduate Student [email protected] Chinonye Dim Graduate Student [email protected] Tabassum Auroni Graduate Student [email protected]
- Publications
For more publications, visit my Google Scholar and Research Gate pages.
- Natekar JP, Pathak H, Stone S, Kumari P, Sharma S, Auroni TT, Arora K, Rothan HA, Kumar M. Differential Pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern in Human ACE2-Expressing Mice. Viruses. 2022 May 25;14(6). doi: 10.3390/v14061139. PubMed PMID: 35746611; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9231291.
- Rothan HA, Kumari P, Stone S, Natekar JP, Arora K, Auroni TT, Kumar M. SARS-CoV-2 Infects Primary Neurons from Human ACE2 Expressing Mice and Upregulates Genes Involved in the Inflammatory and Necroptotic Pathways. Pathogens. 2022 Feb 17;11(2). doi: 10.3390/pathogens11020257. PubMed PMID: 35215199; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8876293.
- Stone S, Rothan HA, Natekar JP, Kumari P, Sharma S, Pathak H, Arora K, Auroni TT, Kumar M. SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern Infect the Respiratory Tract and Induce Inflammatory Response in Wild-Type Laboratory Mice. Viruses. 2021 Dec 24;14(1). doi: 10.3390/v14010027. PubMed PMID: 35062231; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8777867.
- Kumari P, Rothan HA, Natekar JP, Stone S, Pathak H, Strate PG, Arora K, Brinton MA, Kumar M. Neuroinvasion and Encephalitis Following Intranasal Inoculation of SARS-CoV-2 in K18-hACE2 Mice. Viruses. 2021 Jan 19; 13 (1). doi: 10.3390/v13010132. PubMed PMID: 33477869 ; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7832889.
- Natekar JP, Rothan HA, Arora K, Strate PG, Kumar M. Cellular microRNA-155 Regulates Virus-Induced Inflammatory Response and Protects against Lethal West Nile Virus Infection. Viruses. 2019 Dec 19; 12 (1). doi: 10.3390/v12010009. PubMed PMID: 31861621.
- Rothan HA, Arora K, Natekar JP, Strate PG, Brinton MA, Kumar M. Z-DNA-Binding Protein 1 Is Critical for Controlling Virus Replication and Survival in West Nile Virus Encephalitis. Front Microbiol. 2019; 10 :2089. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02089. eCollection 2019. PubMed PMID: 31572318 ; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6749019.
- Azouz F, Arora K, Krause K, Nerurkar VR, Kumar M. Integrated MicroRNA and mRNA Profiling in Zika Virus-Infected Neurons. Viruses. 2019 Feb 16; 11 (2). doi: 10.3390/v11020162. PubMed PMID: 30781519 ; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6410042.
- Krause K, Azouz F, Nakano E, Nerurkar VR, Kumar M. Deletion of Pregnancy Zone Protein and Murinoglobulin-1 Restricts the Pathogenesis of West Nile Virus Infection in Mice. Front Microbiol. 2019; 10 :259. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00259. eCollection 2019. PubMed PMID: 30814992 ; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6381297.