Our long-term interest is the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the development of human autoimmune diseases. Most healthy humans have a propensity to develop autoimmune diseases, as evidenced by the presence of autoreactive T cells or autoantibodies in their na¯ve periphery. T cells are educated in the thymus, where high-affinity TCR-bearing cells that interact with self-antigens are deleted by negative selection while T cells with low-affinity TCR to self-antigens are selected positively and exported to the periphery. In spite of the high frequency of self-reactive T cells in the naïve peripheral repertoires, autoimmune responses do not ensue spontaneously. How this tolerance is maintained is a fundamental question. We focus our investigations on the role of reactive oxygen species in the maintenance of T cell tolerance and autoimmunity.
Education
1985 | Bachelor of Veterinary Sciences (BVSc), University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India |
1990 | Master of Veterinary Science (MVSc) in Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India |
1998 | PhD in Porcine Immunology, Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada |
Postdoctoral training
1998-2000 | Department of Molecular Immunology, Pasteur Institute, Paris, France |
2000-2003 | Center for Neurologic Diseases, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA |
Employment
University related
1986-1993 | Instructor, Department of Medicine, Veterinary College, University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore, India |
2003-2006 | Instructor, Center for Neurologic Diseases, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard University, Boston, MA |
2007-Present | Professor, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE |
Pharmaceutical industry
2006-2007 | Senior Research Investigator, Central Nervous System Therapeutic Department (multiple sclerosis drug discovery research), Sanofi-Aventis, Bridgewater, NJ |
Editorial boards
2014-Present | Academic Editor, PLOS ONE Associate Editor, BMC Immunology Editor, Immunology and Infection Section, Journal of Visualized Experiments |
Professional organizations and memberships
2009-Present | American Association of Immunologists Redox Biology Center Nebraska Center for Virology |
Honors and awards
1980-1985 | National Loan Scholarship for Bachelor of Veterinary Sciences, Government of India |
1985 | Graduate Fellowship for MVSc, Indian Council for Agricultural Research, Government of India (based on national-level competition) |
1990 | Gold Medal for Master of Veterinary Sciences (MVSc), Bangalore, India |
1994 | Graduate Scholarship, University of Guelph, Canada |
1994-1998 | Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship for PhD, Government of Canada |
1995 | Betty Goldhart Fellowship, University of Guelph, Canada |
1996 | Milton Travel Scholarship, University of Guelph, Canada |
1997 | Pfizer Research Excellence Award, University of Guelph, Canada |
1998 | Pathobiology Graduate Student Excellence, University of Guelph, Canada |
2001-2004 | Advanced postdoctoral fellowship award, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, New York |
2002 | Travel Award, 2nd Annual Federation of the Clinical Immunological Society |
2010 | Superior Academic Advising Award, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE |