Dr. Ramesh Rijal
Assistant Professor
Bio
The Rijal Lab studies how harmful bacteria survive inside human immune cells and why some infections are difficult for the body to clear. A major focus of the lab is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, which can hide and persist inside immune cells that normally kill bacteria.
Using both bacterial and host cell models, the lab examines how bacteria adapt to stress and antibiotic treatment and how immune cell functions can either control or unintentionally support infection. This work aims to better understand why infections persist and how immune responses and treatments might be improved.
More information about ongoing research and training in the Rijal Lab is available at https://rijallab.com.
- DRRERNAT - University of Cologne (2016)
- MS - University of Cologne (2012)
BSC 662 - Research Tools
BSC 487/587 - Microbial Physiology
BSC 487/587L - Microbial Physiology Lab
BSC 481/581 - Pathogenic Microbiology
BSC 477/577 - Microbial Genetics
BSC 477L/577L - Microbial 鈥婫enetics Lab
- Polyphosphate is an extracellular signal that can facilitate bacterial survival in eukaryotic cells, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2020
- Pharmacological inhibition of host pathways enhances macrophage killing of intracellular bacterial pathogens, Microbiology Spectrum, 2025
- Gallein and isoniazid act synergistically to attenuate Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth in human macrophages, bioRxiv, 2024
- Polyphosphate uses mTOR, pyrophosphate, and Rho GTPase components to potentiate bacterial survival in Dictyostelium, Mbio, 2023
- American Society of Microbiology
- South Central Branch of the American Society of Microbiology
- English (Full Professional)