Durga Reddi

Biography

Durga is a Postdoctoral research scientist working in collaboration with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and Professor Stella Knight, at Imperial College. Her research interest is in developing immunotherapy through dendritic cells against intra-cellular pathogens such as Coxiella burnetii and Burkholderia pseudomallei that are highly resistant to antibacterial treatment. Her work is uncovering new information about the different responses elicited by these bacterial antigens in specialised subsets of dendritic cells, and how they may be utilised in vaccine development. Durga obtained her PhD from Queen Mary University of London in 2012 for a thesis investigating the host-bacterial interactions of the periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis with bone marrow stromal cells, and the implications on mediators of bone destruction. Prior to this, Durga worked for the Royal Vet College investigating Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease and at the National Institute of Biological Standards and Control as part of her industrial work placement during her BSc. There she was part of a multidisciplinary team using the SIV / Macaque animal model of HIV / AIDS to determine the necessary host responses of attenuated virus that protected against subsequent wild type challenge. She was awarded her BSc in Medial Biology from Brunel University in 2005.

Research Interest

immunotherapy