Principal Investigators

Principal Investigators
Name: Parag KUNDU
Unit Name: Unit of Microbiota-Host Interactions
Education(CV):

Dr. Kundu did his PhD on microbial pathogenesis from Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata in 2009 and received postdoctoral training on host-microbe interactions and stem cell biology at Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden during 2009-2011. He subsequently worked as a Senior Research Fellow at the Singapore Center for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) at NTU, Singapore during 2011-2019. At SCELSE, the main focus of Dr. Kundu’s research was to understand microbial contributions on host health during ageing. During this period Dr. Kundu received the Merlion Project grant (2016-2018) and had been working in close collaboration with Institute Pasteur, Paris.

Email: parag.kundu@ips.ac.cn

Research Topic:

The gut microbiota seems to play a crucial role in maintaining host physiology by integrating signals from environmental factors such as diet, xenobiotics, temperature, stress and host-intrinsic cues like ageing. Undesirable changes in the gut microbiota composition (dysbiosis), while responding to innate or environmental stressors have been implicated as a critical determinant in the development of various modern diseases. Our prime interest at the Kundu Lab is to understand the evolving gut microbiota-host relations during distinct milestones across the lifespan of a host with special focus on intestinal epithelium that serves as a platform mediating this crosstalk. In particular, we study the influence of symbiotic or dysbiotic microbial signatures on intestinal stem cells, which maintain the epithelial dynamics and functions of the gut. Our goal is to decipher the molecular mechanisms through which gut microbiota influences key intestinal stem cell signaling pathways and functions during homeostasis or dysbiosis across host age. We are using state-of-the-art systems biology tools such as metagenomics and metabolomics, coupled with hypothesis-driven research in gnotobiotic animal models and human cohorts to elucidate the mechanistic aspects of microbiota-host communications. Our ultimate objective is to develop novel innovative therapeutic interventions targeting the gut microbiota against ageing associated human diseases such as cancer. We are a newly opened lab at the Center for Microbes Development and Health at Institute Pasteur, Shanghai.

Team Members:
Lab Manager: Ashley XING
Responsibilities: General management of the unit.

Contact: 021-54923082

Email: slxing@ips.ac.cn

Room No: 803, Life Science Research Building

 

Postdoc: Lisa PENG

Project: Role of microbial OMVs in regulating host intestinal stem cell functions.

Contact: 021-54923082

Email: lhpeng@ips.ac.cn

Room No: 803, Life Science Research Building

 

Postdoc: Poulomi DEY

Project: Microbial influence on stem cell-based therapies.

Contact: 021-54923082

Email: poulomi.dey@iitg.ac.in

Room No: 803, Life Science Research Building

 

Research Assistant: Panpan FENG

Project: Role of gut microbiota in ageing.

Contact: 021-54923082

Email: ppfeng@ips.ac.cn

Room No: 803, Life Science Research Building

 

Research Assistant: Xiaoqin Luo

Project: Translocation of microbial OMVs and their role in host physiology.

Contact: 021-54923082

Email: xqluo@ips.ac.cn 

Room No: 803, Life Science Research Building


Direct PhD student: Yuan Xiao

Project: Host microbiota and stem cell function
Contact: 021-54923082
Email: yxiao@ips.ac.cn

Room No: 803, Life Science Research Building

Master PhD student: Shuning Zhang

Project: Microbial influence on stem cell-based diseases.

Contact: 021-54923082

Email: snzhang@ips.ac.cn 

Room No: 803, Life Science Research Building

Master PhD student: Haiyue Dang

Project: Role of gut microbiota in ageing. 

Contact: 021-54923082

Email: hydang@ips.ac.cn

Room No: 803, Life Science Research Building


Selected Bibliography :

1.         Kundu P*, Lee H U, Perez I G, et al. Neurogenesis and prolongevity signaling in young germ-free mice transplanted with the gut microbiota of old mice. Sci Transl Med. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aau4760. *Corresponding author.

2.         Kundu P$,*, Blacher E*, Elinav E$, et al. “Our gut microbiome: The evolving inner self”. Cell. Dec 14;171(7):1481-1493. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.024 (2017). $Corresponding authors, *Equal contribution.

3.         Kundu P1, Genander M1, Straat K, et al. An EphB-Abl signaling pathway is associated with intestinal tumor initiation and growth. Sci Transl Med. Apr 1;7(281):281ra44. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3010567 (2015). 1Equal contribution. Highlighted in The Straits Times.

http://news.ntu.edu.sg/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?URL=http://news.ntu.edu.sg/news/Pages/NR2015_Apr02.aspx&Guid=7bfec5e6-ce83-406f-8c41-1d5be6c54ded&Category=News+Releases

4.        Kundu P and Pettersson S. Immunology: Mammalian watchdog targets bacteria. Nature. Aug 28;512(7515):377-8. doi: 10.1038/nature13741 (2014).

5.         Kundu P, Wei Ling T, Korecka A, et al. Absence of intestinal PPARg aggravates acute infectious colitis in mice through a lipocalin-2-dependent pathway.  Plos Pathogens. 10(1): e1003887. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1003887; (2014).