Rajiv Kumar

Rajiv Kumar

Early Career Faculty Member

Banaras Hindu University, India

Tel: +91-9935940735

Email: Rajiv082@yahoo.com

 

 

 

VALIDATE Role:

Network Associate

 

Research Keywords: 

Immunology, Parasitic Diseases

 

Biography:

Dr. Rajiv Kumar is working as an Assistant Professor at Banaras Hindu University-India. His research interests are to understand the immune mechanisms underlying the progression human Visceral Leishmaniasis, and to distinguish anti-parasitic host immune responses that control disease from the responses that cause disease. Dr. Kumar also works extensively on immuno-biology and immuno-pathogenesis of Post Kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis.

 

Related Websites: 

Profile page on Google Scholar

 

Key Publications:

Kumar R*, Chauhan SB, Ng S, Sundar S, Engwerda CR*. Immune checkpoint targets for host directed therapy to prevent and treat leishmaniasis. Frontiers in Immunology 2017; 8:1492 (* Corresponding author)
 
Faleiro R*, Kumar R*#, Bunn PT, Singh N, Chauhan SB, Sheel M, Amante F, Montes de Oca M, Edward CL, Ng S, Best SE, Haque A, Beattie L, Hafner L, Sacks D, Nylen S, Sundar S and Engwerda CR#. “Combined immune therapy for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis”. PLoS Neglected Tropical Disease 2016 Feb 12;10(2):e0004415. (*Joint 1st Author & #Corresponding author)
 
Singh N, Kumar R*, Engwerda C, sacks D, Nylen S, Sundar S*. “Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha neutralization has no direct effect on parasite burden, but causes impaired IFN-γ production by spleen cells from human visceral leishmaniasis patients”. Cytokine 2016, 85 184-190. (*Corresponding author)
 
Montes de Oca M, Kumar R, Rivera F, Fiona H. Amante F, Sheel M, Faleiro RJ, Bunn PT, Best SE, Beattie L, Ng S, Edwards CL, Muller W, Cretney E, Nutt SL,Smyth MJ, l Haque A, Hill GR, Sundar S, Kallies A and Engwerda CR. “Blimp1-dependent IL-10 production by Tr1 cells regulates TNF-mediated tissue pathology”. PLoS Pathogens 2016 Jan 14;12(1):e1005398].
 
Montes de Oca M, Kumar R, Rivera F, Fiona H. Amante F, , Bunn PT, Best SE, Beattie L, Ng S, Edwards CL, Boyle GM, Marquart L, Haque A, Piera KA, Woodberry T, Price R, Anstey NM, Burel J, Doolan DL, McCarthy JS and Engwerda CR. "Type I interferons regulate immune responses in humans with blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum infection.” Cell Reports 2016, 17 (2): 399-412.
 
Kumar R, Singh N, Gautam S, Singh OP, Gidwani K, Rai M, Sacks D, Sundar S, Nylen S. “Leishmania specific CD4 T cells release IFNγ that limit parasite replication in patients with visceral leishmaniasis”. PLoS Neglected Tropical Disease 2014 Oct 2; 8(10):e3198.
 
Gautam S*,Kumar R*, Maurya R*, Nylén S, Ansari N, Rai M, Sundar S, Sacks D. IL-10 neutralization promotes parasite clearance in splenic aspirate cells from patients with visceral leishmaniasis. Journal of Infectious Disease 2011: Oct 1; 204(7):1134-1137 (*Joint 1st Author).
 
Ansari N*,Kumar R*, Gautam S, Nylén S, Singh OP, Sundar S, Sacks D. IL-27 and IL-21 are associated with T cell IL-10 responses in human visceral leishmaniasis. Journal of Immunology 2011: Apr 1; 186(7):3977-3985 (*Joint 1st Author).
 
Kumar R, Singh OP, Gautam S, , Nylen S Sundar S. “Enhanced expression of of Toll-like Receptors 2,4 but not 9, in spleen tissue from patients with Visceral Leishmaniasis”. Parasite Immunology 2014, 36 (12): 721-725.
 
Gautam S, Kumar R, Singh N, Singh A, Rai M, Sacks D, Sundar S, Nylen S. “CD8 T cell Exhaustion in Human Visceral Leishmaniasis”. Journal of Infectious Disease; 2014 15;209(2):290-9.
 
Kumar R, Engwerda C. “Vaccines to prevent leishmaniasis”. Clinical & Translational Immunology (2014) 3, e13; doi:10.1038/cti.2014.4. [Nature Publishing Group]
 
Kumar R, Nylén S. “Immuno-biology of Visceral Leishmaniasis”. Front Immunol. 2012; 3: 251.
 
Gidwani K, Jones S, Kumar R, Boelaert M, Sundar S. Interferon-gamma Release Assay (modified QuantiFERON®) as a potential marker of infection for Leishmania donovani, a proof of concept study. PLoS Neglected Tropical Disease 5 (4): e1042.
 
Kumar R, Goto Y, Gidwani K, Cowgill KD, Sundar S, Reed SG. “Evaluation of ex vivo Human Immune Response Against Candidate Antigens for a Visceral Leishmaniasis Vaccine”. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2010; 82(5): 808-813.