Shilpi Chandra Email & Phone Number

San Diego County, California, United States

La Jolla, California

Greater San Diego Area

• Designed and performed a genome wide siRNA screen to identify novel components of lipid antigen presentation.
• Identified and validated the role of various genes involved in lipid antigen presentation specially genes related to vesicular traffic and fusion affecting localization of CD1d and/or antigen.
• Elucidated the role of ABC family transporters in CD1d dependent lipid antigen presentation specially Abcc1 and Abca7.
• Demonstrated the role of Mucosal associated T cells (MAIT) cells in the development of asthma in inner-city children.
• Using TCR sequencing validated the completeness of TCRα in a new mouse strain that lack invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT) cells. Also showed that these mice had diminished airway inflammation and resistance, consistent.

New Delhi Area, India

• Identified various host factors that regulate intracellular survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection using an siRNA screen.
• Identified Tgfbr1 and Csnk1 as host factors important for survival of virulent and multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
• Elucidated how Mtb modulates IFN-γ signaling.
• Demonstrated that inhibition of Tgfbr1 and Csnk1 substantially inhibited intracellular survival of both drug-sensitive and multiple drug-resistant strains of Mtb.
• Identified compound D4476, which eliminates Mtb from infected mice.
• Identified several targets related to Mtb pathology that could be explored as therapeutic opportunities.

• Worked towards vaccine development for Plasmodium falciparum malaria involving expression, purification and characterization of parasite protein PfF2. This also involved working in GMP facility.

M.Sc., Life Sciences

High School, Biology/Biological Sciences, General