Kumar Lab

Rohitashw Kumar, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Oral Biology. His research focuses on host and pathogenic factors that affect oral fungal diseases and on the role of salivary antimicrobial peptides. At present, he is examining the implications of dysregulated epithelial proteases on host-fungal interactions.

Additionally, Kumar is exploring the influence of salivary metal-antimicrobial peptide complexes on oral microbiota. His research is supported by NIDCR/NIH.

Kumar Lab's central focus is to understand the interplay between oral fungi and the oral epithelium. In vitro studies and animal models are employed to explore the mechanisms of oral epithelial protease imbalance and their impact on short and long-term oral inflammation. The ultimate goal is to develop interventions targeting protease-mediated inflammatory responses to influence disease progression.

• Sumeeta Kumari, PhD, postdoctoral associate
• Zarin Tasnim, research technician 

• Role of epithelial protease imbalance on Oral Candida infections: This ongoing project studies how epithelial Kallikreins affect inflammatory responses of oral epithelial cells upon fungal invasion. The project also studies the role of Candida albicans on protease imbalance and their short and long-term effects on inflammatory responses.
• Zinc and Salivary Antimicrobial Peptide Histatin-5 complex and commensalism: We are studying how zinc-Hst 5 complex induced changes to oral fungal pathogens alter their susceptibility to antifungal drugs, interactions with interspecies mucosal binding partners, and dampen inflammatory signaling in the oral mucosa to understand how Zn-Hst 5 modulates fungal commensalism to tune the activity of Hst 5 by therapeutic changes in salivary zinc levels.

Location: 656 Biomedical Research Building, Buffalo, NY 14214
Office Phone Number: 716-829-2520
Lab Phone Number: 716-716-829-6372
Email: rohitash@buffalo.edu