Mehra Labratory

Dr Mehra’s program focuses on immune responses in-vivo, particularly the negative regulation of anti-Mtb immunity in the context of the granuloma, using IDO, PD-1 and LAG3 as examples in the macaque model. My lab is testing several host-directed approaches involving the inhibition of IDO, to study if adjunctive therapies can improve the prognosis of treated macaques (and humans). I am also leveraging the macaque model to study correlates of protective immunity and vaccine efficacy, especially focusing on CD4+ T cells. Of particular interest is the comparative evaluation of lung CD4+ T cell responses elicited by novel whole-cell Mtb vaccine candidates and standard vaccine BCG. The lab is interested in developing and testing new recombinant BCG vaccines for their efficacy against Mtb.