Ashok Kumar
| Faculty Profile |
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Position Title
Associate Professor
Office Phone
313-577-6213 (office)
313-577-6202 (lab)
Biography
The research interests of laboratory are to study host-pathogen interactions in microbial infection caused by bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Specifically, our focus has been on developing immunomodulation strategies targeting Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling in preventing and/or treating infectious diseases affecting the eye (e.g. keratitis and endophthalmitis) and other organs. We use cutting-edge and high throughput “omics” technologies such as transcriptomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics combined with systems biology to study host immune responses to infection. Another area of our research is to understand mechanisms of antibiotic resistance among bacteria, prevalent in hospitals and the environment and develop alternative antimicrobial therapeutics to reduce antibiotic resistance.
- Research Educator, Full time, Ph.D.
Education
- 1992 – 1995: B S. (Medical), Panjab University (DAV college), Chandigarh, India.
- 1995 –1997: M.S. (Microbiology), Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India
- 1998 – 2003: Ph. D. (Medical Microbiology), Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India
Faculty Appointments
- 2015 – Present Assistant Professor (Secondary), Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
- 2012 – Present Assistant Professor (Adjunct), Department of Biological Sciences, Oakland University, Rochester, MI
- 2010 – Present Assistant Professor (Joint), Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
- 2010 – Present Assistant Professor (Primary), Department of Ophthalmology (Kresge Eye Institute), Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
- 2006 – 2010: Research Scientist, Kresge Eye Institute (Department of Ophthalmology), Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Links of Interest
Selected publications
- Singh PK., Guest JM, Kanwar M, Boss J, Gao N, Juzych MS, Abrams GW, Yu Fs, and. Kumar, A. (2017) Zika virus infects cells lining the blood-retinal barrier and causes chorioretinal atrophy in mouse eyes. Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) Insight 2(4): e92340,
- Kumar, A., Giri, S., and Kumar, A. (2016) AICAR-mediated AMPK activation induces protective innate responses in bacterial endophthalmitis. Cellular Microbiology 18, 1815-1830
- Rajamani, D., Singh, P. K., Rottmann, B. G., Singh, N., Bhasin, M. K., and Kumar, A. (2016) Temporal retinal transcriptome and systems biology analysis identifies key pathways and hub genes in Staphylococcus aureus endophthalmitis. Scientific Reports 6, 21502.
- Singh, P. Kα., and Kumar, A. (2016) Mitochondria mediates caspase-dependent and independent retinal cell death in Staphylococcus aureus endophthalmitis. Cell Death Discovery 2, 16034
- Walia, S., Murleedharn, C., Band, J., Kanwar, Mκ., and Kumar, A. (2016) Quantitation of antibiotic resistance genes pollution in hospital waste water effluent and Urban Clinton River Water, Michigan, USA. Current Medicine Research and Practice 6, 149-151
- Talreja, D., Singh, P. K., and Kumar, A. (2015) In Vivo Role of TLR2 and MyD88 Signaling in Eliciting Innate Immune Responses in Staphylococcal Endophthalmitis. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 56, 1719-1732
- Singh, P. K., Donovan, D. M., and Kumar, A. (2014) Intravitreal Injection of the Chimeric Phage Endolysin Ply187 Protects Mice from Staphylococcus aureus Endophthalmitis. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 58, 4621-4629
- Singh, P., Shiha, M., and Kumar, A. (2014) Antibacterial responses of retinal Muller glia: production of antimicrobial peptides, oxidative burst and phagocytosis. Journal of Neuroinflammation 11, 33
- Kochan, T., Singla, A., Tosi, J., and Kumar, A. (2012) Toll-Like Receptor 2 Ligand Pretreatment Attenuates Retinal Microglial Inflammatory Response but Enhances Phagocytic Activity toward Staphylococcus aureus. Infect Immun 80, 2076-2088
- Shamsuddin, N., and Kumar, A. (2011) TLR2 mediates the innate response of retinal Muller glia to Staphylococcus aureus. Journal of Immunology 186, 7089-7097
- Kumar, A., Singh, C. N., Glybina, I. V., Mahmoud, T. H., and Yu, F.-S. X. (2010) Toll-like Receptor 2 Ligand Induced Protection against Bacterial Endophthalmitis. Journal of Infectious Diseases 201, 255-263
Patents:
https://google.com/patents/US20150335719
https://www.google.com/patents/US8889149
IN THE NEWS:
- Wayne State University scientists discover the Zika virus can damage eyes, may cause blindness
- Wayne State study finds Zika virus may cause blindness - Crains
- Link between Zika virus and blindness discovered at Wayne State
Research Description
The research interests of laboratory are to study host-pathogen interactions in microbial infection caused by bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Specifically, our focus has been on developing immunomodulation strategies targeting Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling in preventing and/or treating infectious diseases affecting the eye (e.g. keratitis and endophthalmitis) and other organs. We use cutting-edge and high throughput “omics” technologies such as transcriptomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics combined with systems biology to study host immune responses to infection. Another area of our research is to understand mechanisms of antibiotic resistance among bacteria, prevalent in hospitals and the environment and develop alternative antimicrobial therapeutics to reduce antibiotic resistance.
Affiliated Departments
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