Priya Uppuluri, PhD

Priya Uppuluri, PhD

Investigator, The Lundquist Institute
Assistant Professor, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Division of Infectious Diseases, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center

Contact

Candida albicans biofilms

Research Description

Dr. Uppuluri’s lab focuses on the molecular basis underlying biofilm growth and dispersal in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Dr. Uppuluri’s lab has reported that biofilm dispersed cells have properties more invasive and virulent than any other growth phases of C. albicans, including biofilms. Understanding the molecular basis underlying biofilm dispersal, and identification of genetic targets on the fungus to abrogate the process of dispersion is the focus of the laboratory.
Theme Groups
Research Interests

Education

  • BS, Mumbai University, Mumbai, India
  • PhD, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas

Recent and/or Significant Publications

Uppuluri P, Lin L, Alqarihi A, Luo G, Youssef EG, Alkhazraji S, Yount NY, Ibrahim BA, Bolaris MA, Edwards JE Jr, Swidergall M, Filler SG, Yeaman MR, Ibrahim AS. The Hyr1 protein from the fungus Candida albicans is a cross kingdom immunotherapeutic target for Acinetobacter bacterial infection. PLoS Pathog. 2018 May 10;14(5):e1007056.
Uppuluri P, Singh S, Alqarihi A, et al. Human Anti-Als3p Antibodies Are Surrogate Markers of NDV-3A Vaccine Efficacy Against Recurrent Vulvovaginal Candidiasis. Front Immunol. 2018;9:1349. Published 2018 Jun 15. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2018.01349
Liu NN, Uppuluri P, Broggi A, et al. Intersection of phosphate transport, oxidative stress and TOR signalling in Candida albicans virulence. PLoS Pathog. 2018;14(7):e1007076. Published 2018 Jul 30. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1007076
Uppuluri P, Acosta Zaldívar M, Anderson MZ, et al. Candida albicans Dispersed Cells Are Developmentally Distinct from Biofilm and Planktonic Cells. mBio. 2018;9(4):e01338-18. Published 2018 Aug 21. doi:10.1128/mBio.01338-18
Uppuluri P, Busscher HJ, Chakladar J, van der Mei HC, Chaffin WL. Transcriptional Profiling of C. albicans in a Two Species Biofilm with Rothia dentocariosa. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2017;7:311. Published 2017 Jul 13. doi:10.3389/fcimb.2017.00311