Host Pathogen Interaction

Sheetal Gandotra

Scientist-F  |  Decision Unit 6: Infectious Diseases Biology
Professor  |  Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research

Portrait of Sheetal Gandotra

Sheetal Gandotra's lab studies host–pathogen interactions in tuberculosis with a focus on lipid metabolism. The research explores how lipid droplets—key storage organelles in immune cells—modulate innate immune responses to intracellular pathogens.

Specific Research Interests

  • Lipid droplet proteins in innate immune defense
  • Mycobacterial lipid metabolism

Her group discovered that triglyceride synthesis in human macrophages influences the inflammatory response to infection. These triglycerides are stored in lipid droplets, whose protein composition is actively altered by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Current research focuses on how these proteins regulate lipid mobilization and immune responses, contributing to host-directed therapies for tuberculosis.

Selected Publications

All Citations →