Dr. Ramesh Rijal
Assistant Professor
Bio
The Rijal Lab investigates how pathogens like Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) survive inside human immune cells, such as lung macrophages, which typically engulf and kill bacteria. Mtb and other bacterial pathogens secrete a phosphate polymer called polyphosphate (polyP) that inhibits macrophage killing processes and protects bacteria from antibiotics, making infections harder to treat. The Rijal Lab鈥檚 research focuses on understanding polyP鈥檚 impact on macrophage functions that enable bacterial survival, as well as polyP鈥檚 role in bacterial stress adaptation, cell structure formation, and biofilm development. By targeting polyP pathways in both macrophages and bacteria, we aim to enhance immune and treatment responses against these infections. The Rijal Lab welcomes motivated undergraduates to join our team and contribute to impactful research addressing antibiotic tolerance and immune evasion in bacterial pathogens.
- Proteomic Analysis of Dictyostelium discoideum by Mass Spectrometry, Dictyostelium discoideum: Methods and Protocols, 2024,
- Gallein and isoniazid act synergistically to attenuate Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth in human macrophages, Front. Microbiol., 2024,
- Starvation induces extracellular accumulation of polyphosphate in Dictyostelium discoideum to inhibit macropinocytosis, phagocytosis, and exocytosis, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2023,
- Polyphosphate uses mTOR, pyrophosphate, and Rho GTPase components to potentiate bacterial survival in Dictyostelium, Mbio, 2023,
- Identification of novel proteins in the Dictyostelium discoideum chemorepulsion pathway using REMI, Micropublication Biology, 2022,
- Dictyostelium discoideum cells sense their local density and retain nutrients when the cells are about to overgrow their food source, Journal of Cell Science, 2022,
- Using Dictyostelium to develop therapeutics for acute respiratory distress syndrome, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 2021,
- An autocrine negative feedback loop inhibits Dictyostelium discoideum proliferation through pathways including IP3/Ca2+, Mbio, 2021,
- Polyphosphate is an extracellular signal that can facilitate bacterial survival in eukaryotic cells, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2020,
- Extracellular signaling in Dictyostelium, International Journal of Developmental Biology, 2019,
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