Minal Mulye, PhD | Associate Professor | Biomedical Sciences at PCOM
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MINAL MULYE, PHD
Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

Since joining PCOM in January 2021, Dr. Minal Mulye has been involved in teaching, research and service activities. In the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) program, she is the Human Disease and Therapeutics co-course director and a faculty lecturer in the Infection and Immunity, Cardiovascular and Pulmonary medicine course. Dr. Mulye is a faculty lecturer in the Infectious Processes course for the Masters in Biomedical Sciences program.

In the laboratory, Dr. Mulye conducts research with students to examine the interaction of highly infectious intracellular pathogen coxiella burnetii with the host cell lipids and the immune system. They are working to understand the host processes the pathogen manipulates to survive intracellularly. Dr. Mulye has obtained extramural and intramural grant funds to support this research. Medical and graduate students are active contributors to her infectious disease and immunology research program.

Dr. Mulye is a member of the Executive Faculty and the Institutional Animal Care and Usage Committee. She serves as faculty advisor for student groups PCOM Hearts, DO More and the South Asian Medical Student Association. She is also involved in academic counseling for first year students as well as COMLEX preparation for second year DO students. Dr. Mulye serves the greater scientific community as a manuscript and grant reviewer for various international publications and organizations and as a panelist for several career forums. Her service interest focuses on student progress and success in their respective careers.

Education

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship (2014 - 2017)
    Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine
  • PhD in Biomedical Sciences (2008 - 2013)
    Infection, Immunity and Transplantation University of Toledo College of Medicine, OH
  • MS in Biotechnology (2006 - 2008)
    University of Mumbai, India
  • BS in Biotechnology (2003 - 2006)
    University of Mumbai, India

Courses

Co-course director and faculty lecturer
  • Human Diseases and Therapeutics
Faculty lecturer
  • Infection and Immunity
  • Foundations of Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Foundations of Pulmonary Medicine
  • Infectious Processes

Research

Dr. Mulye's research lab aims to understand host-pathogen interactions and determine host cell lipids and the immune system pathways that pathogens manipulate to promote their survival and infect successfully. Dr. Mulye's lab studies a highly infectious bacterium, Coxiella burnetii which infects humans via inhalation. Coxiella causes a disease known as Q fever which can lead to endocarditis several months to years after initial infection. Dr. Mulye's lab is interested in understanding mechanisms Coxiella employs to survive long term in the host and identify potential therapeutic targets to inhibit Coxiella survival and thus prevent endocarditis.

Awards

  • PCOM Employee Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Award (2022)
  • Dean Kathrine Easley Wemmer Trust Fund Scholarship for Scholarly Excellence from the American Association of University Women, Toledo Chapter, OH
Travel awards
  • American Society for Rickettsiology (2018)
  • Gordon Conference (2017)
  • ESCCAR International Congress (2017)
Poster awards
  • Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference
  • American Society for Cell Biology Midwest Symposium
  • Postdoc Symposium Indiana University School of Medicine
  • University of Toledo Annual Research Day

Publications

Wilson T, Mulye M, Akbar S (2020), Opportunistic physiology: inserting physiology and pathophysiology content into virtually delivered clinical rotations, Advances in Physiology Education, Adv Physiol Educ 44: 545–549, 2020; (PMID: 32880484)

Clemente TM, Mulye M, Justis AV, Nallandhighal S, Tran TM, Gilk SD (2018). Coxiella burnetii blocks intracellular IL-17 signaling in macrophages, Infection and Immunity, IAI.00532-18, (PMID: 30061378)

Mulye M, Zapata B, Gilk SD (2018), Altering lipid droplet homeostasis affects Coxiella burnetii intracellular growth, PLoS One 13(2): e0192215, (PMID: 29390006)

Mulye M, Samanta D, Winfree S, Heinzen R, Gilk SD (2017), Elevated cholesterol in Coxiella burnetii intracellular niche is bacteriolytic, mBio 8: e02313-16, (PMID: 28246364)

Mulye M, Bechill MP, Grose W, Ferreira VP, Lafontaine ER, Wooten RM et al., (2014), Delineating the importance of serum opsonins and the bacterial capsule in affecting the uptake and killing of Burkholderia pseudomallei by murine neutrophils and macrophages, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 8(8): e2988. doi:10.1371, (PMID: 25144195)

Book Chapter and Review

Libbing CL, McDevitt AR, Azcueta RP, Ahila A, Mulye M (2019), Lipid droplets: A significant but understudied contributor of host-bacterial interactions, Cells, 15;8(4). (PMID: 30991653)

Mulye M, Carrasco S, Simões J (2017), Epidemiology of Q Fever in Africa, In: The Principles and Practice of Q Fever: The One Health Paradigm, Simões J. ed., Nova Science Publishers

Samanta D, Mulye M, Clemente TM, Justis AV, Gilk SD (2017), Subversion of host cholesterol by obligate intracellular bacteria, Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 7:165. (PMID: 28529926)

Invited Presentations (Selected)

Altering lipid droplet homeostasis affects Coxiella burnetii intracellular growth, Indiana Academy of Sciences Annual meeting, Indianapolis, IN (2018)

Altering lipid droplet homeostasis affects Coxiella burnetii intracellular growth, American Society for Rickettsiology Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI (2018)

Altering lipid droplet homeostasis affects Coxiella burnetii intracellular growth, Gordon Research Conferences for Molecular and Cellular biology of Lipids, Waterville Valley, NH (2017)

Maintenance of lipid droplet homeostasis is critical for Coxiella burnetii intracellular growth, FASEB Lipid Droplets on move from health to disease, Snowmass, CO (2017)

Memberships

  • American Heart Association
  • American Society for Cell Biology
  • American Society for Rickettsiology
  • Eastern Pennsylvania Branch of American Society for Microbiology
  • International Association of Medical Science Educators
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