Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a serious global threat if left untackled and has attracted attention from a wide spectrum of healthcare and health funding agencies worldwide. WHO strategic priorities on AMR emphasize multi-sectoral coordination and sector-specific responses and have culminated in National Action Plans on antimicrobials in several countries including India.

The Infectious Disease Biology Unit (DU-6) aims to integrate multi-level expertise on bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens in investigating the microbial realm and its effects on both well-being and illness. The research activities span diverse areas, including exploring the diversity and drug resistance patterns of pathogenic fungi and bacteria, devising innovative strategies for targeting them, developing host-directed therapies for tuberculosis, investigating the pathways exploited by pathogens within the host, and employing genomics to combat the burden of infectious diseases on public health.

Key Research Areas:

• Understanding macrophage cholesterol trafficking and sensing pathways in control of drug-resistant and tolerant M. tuberculosis
• Delineating host factors involved in antibiotic-dependent and independent control of intracellular bacterial pathogens
• Investigating innate immune responses against carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae
• Pathogenomics-based investigation of AMR in filamentous fungal skin infections in India
• Genomics-based clinical surveillance for respiratory pathogens and AMR patterns in lower respiratory tract infections