Ankit Basak holds a B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata. He is a fifth-year graduate student working jointly in the labs of Professor Laura Kiessling (Chemistry) and Professor Alex Shalek (IMES), where he is investigating host-microbial interactions at mucosal barrier tissues. These interactions, whether with pathogens or commensal bacteria, are critical determinants of the body’s downstream immune responses, yet little is known about how human cells recognize and distinguish between different microbes – or why some microbes are able to evade detection. Ankit is developing single-cell and spatial transcriptomic methods to map interactions between key cell-surface molecules that are found on microbes (glycans) and human cells (lectins) and link these to the mucosal barrier response. His research has broad significance for understanding host-microbe interactions, with the ultimate aim of guiding new therapeutic strategies for microbiome-mediated disease.
Ankit Basak
