Dr. Indu Khatri

RESEARCH

I am a computational biologist keen on understanding the evolution of host immune mechanisms in infectious and non-infectious diseases in humans.

My research focus is on developing new computational tools to be used for immune-monitoring in human diseases. I am specifically interested in characterizing the antibody diversity in different diseases and understanding how germline variations influence the antibody repertoire and shapes the immune response especially in bacterial and viral infections. I also develop computational strategies by integrating multi-omics data i.e. single-cell/bulk transcriptomics, proteomics, antibody repertoire, flow/mass cytometry to improve molecular understanding of the human diseases. 

In my current position, I am involved in the TiMaScan and PERISCOPE projects.

In the TiMaScan project, I am applying systems biology and machine learning to identify tissue and/or tumor specific biomarkers and dissect the monocyte/macrophage lineage and its relation with dendritic cells in different tissues.

In the PERISCOPE project, I am applying phylogenetics, systems biology and machine learning to investigate the development of antigen-specific B-cell responses upon Bordetella pertussis exposure and vaccination. 

CURRICULUM VITAE

In my current position at LUMC, also supported by LEaDing individual postdoctoral fellowship (2018-2020), I am combining phylogenetics, machine learning and systems biology to develop computational tools and resources in the emerging immuno-bioinformatics field. Previously at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, United States, I deployed systems biology to investigate host escape mechanisms, using the multi-omics data, in the pancreatic cancer and Zika virus infection in humans. During my PhD, supported by University grant commission, a national research fellowship, I investigated the evolution of microbes using genomics as a tool at CSIR - Institute of Microbial Technology, India.