Minal Mulye, Ph.D.

Biography

Dr. Mulye joined Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology in August 2017.

She earned her Bachelor (2006) and Master of Science (2008) degrees in Biotechnology from University of Mumbai, India.

In December 2013, she completed her Ph.D. in infection and immunity from University of Toledo College of Medicine, Toledo, OH. Her dissertation work focused on understanding immune responses important in controlling the intracellular pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis. Her studies provided key insight to the importance of neutrophils over macrophages in clearance of serum-opsonized B. pseudomallei, and the role of the B. pseudomallei capsule in resisting complement-mediated killing.

In 2014, Dr. Mulye started as a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN. Continuing her curiosity for host-pathogen interactions, at IUSM Dr. Mulye studied the interaction of intracellular pathogen Coxiella burnetii with the host cell lipids and how the pathogen manipulates host cells to achieve intracellular survival. Thus during her time as a graduate student and a postdoc, Dr. Mulye has gained expertise in key areas of cell biology microbiology and immunology at the host-pathogen interface.

During her graduate and postdoc career, Dr. Mulye presented her research at several local, national and international conferences including the prestigious FASEB and Gordon conferences. She has won several poster and travel awards and has been invited to present short talks. Her research has resulted in several publications, a review article and a corresponding author book chapter.

In 2011, Dr. Mulye earned the scholarship award for academic excellence from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Toledo Chapter. As a postdoc, she received funding from the American Heart Association (AHA) to conduct her research.

Dr. Mulye has served in various leadership roles including President of Postdoctoral Association at IUSM and Member, International Admission Committee, IUSM PhD Program. She has been a member of the organizing committee for Midwest Microbial Pathogenesis Conference, Indianapolis, IN and a co-organizer for American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) Midwest Symposium, West Lafayette, IN. Dr. Mulye is a member of American Women in Science (AWIS), American Society for Microbiology (ASM), American Society for Rickettsiology (ASR), ASCB and AHA. She serves as an ad hoc reviewer for the journals PLoS One and Emerging Microbes and Infection (nature publishing group).

Clinical/Research Interests

At Marian, her goal is to teach immunology to future medical professionals with a focus on critical thinking and building a high-quality, creative and hypothesis-driven research program. She aims to develop a research program combining cell biology, microbiology and immunology. Her research interest lies in understanding host-pathogen interactions with a focus on innate immune system and how pathogens manipulate host cell lipids and the immune system to promote their survival.

Feel free to stop by Dr. Mulye’s office or email her at mmulye@marian.edu if you are interested in learning more about her research.

Publications

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, Zapata B, Gilk SD (2018). Altering lipid droplet homeostasis in alveolar macrophages affects Coxiella burnetii intracellular growth, PLoS One (Manuscript under revision)

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 and Chapter Review

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. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2017.00165 (PMID: 28529926)