Indira Rao, PhD

Education

2003 – 2006 University of Mumbai, India, BSc Chemistry

2007 – 2008 Heriot-Watt University, United Kingdom, MSc Forensic Materials

2018 - 2025 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PhD Immunology

Thesis

Host-microbe interactions at barrier tissues mediate context-specific immune responses to commensal microbiota. Staphylococcus aureus can asymptomatically colonize the skin or cause recurrent opportunistic infections with limited protective immunity. My work reveals that homeostatic non-inflammatory skin colonization with S. aureus is sufficient to induce not only local response, but a systemic innate-like T cell response also at mucosal, lymphoid, and metabolic sites. In the mouse model, using microbial genetics, immunophenotyping, imaging and next-generation sequencing methods, I aim to (1) characterize innate-like homeostatic immunity to the topical microbe, (2) investigate how the topical skin microbe promotes said systemic response, and, importantly, (3) what the functional consequences of such a systemic response may be. Specifically, we endeavor to determine whether steady-state immunity represents an anticipatory response for protection during infection. These studies can shed light on the basic biology of how skin commensalism promotes overall metaorganism fitness.

Publications From Graduate Work

  • Sorobetea,D., Matsuda, R., Peterson, S.T., Grayczyk, J.P., Rao, I., Krespan, E., Lanza, M., Assenmacher, C.A., Matthias Mack, M., Beiting, D.P., Radaelli, E., and Brodsky, I.E. Inflammatory monocytes promote granuloma control of Yersinia infection. Nature Microbiology 2023 8: 666–678 doi: 10.1038/s41564-023-01338-6
  • Enamorado M., Kulalert W., Han S.J., Rao I., Delaleu J., Link V.M., Yong D., Smelkinson M., Gil L., Nakajima S., Linehan J.L., Bouladoux N., Wlaschin J., Kabat J., Kamenyeva O., Deng L., Gribonika I., Chesler A.T., Chiu I.M., Le Pichon C.E., Belkaid Y. Immunity to the microbiota promotes sensory neuron regeneration. Cell 2023 186(3):607-620. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.12.037
  • Lima-Junior D.S., Krishnamurthy S.R., Bouladoux N., Collins N., Han S.J., Chen E.Y., Constantinides M.G., Link V.M., Lim A.I., Enamorado M., Cataisson C., Gil L., Rao I., Farley T.K., Koroleva G., Attig J., Yuspa S.H., Fischbach M.A., Kassiotis G., Belkaid Y. Endogenous retroviruses promote homeostatic and inflammatory responses to the microbiota. Cell 2021 184(14):3794-3811 doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.020