Host-Pathogen Systems Research Lab

Understanding how infections persist and how immune defenses clear them.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains a leading cause of death from infectious disease worldwide.

The Rijal Lab investigates how Mycobacterium tuberculosis and related bacterial pathogens survive within host cells and why immune defenses often fail to eliminate infection. We focus on fundamental processes that determine intracellular persistence versus clearance, using complementary host and pathogen approaches to study conserved mechanisms of survival, stress tolerance, and immune control.

Our work centers on two areas: mycobacterial adaptation and antibiotic tolerance, and host pathways that support or restrict intracellular infection. We use genetic, cellular, and experimental systems to define processes that influence pathogen persistence and clearance and that are relevant to therapeutic development.