Sougat Misra, has been trained as a molecular toxicologist with multidisciplinary experience in the fields of selenium and selenoproteins in biology, cancer drug and model development, and inflammation. Misra earned his PhD in biology from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. His graduate research addressed the molecular underpinnings of selenium cytotoxicity in primary hepatocytes. He subsequently moved to the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden to pursue his post-doctoral training where his research involved redox biology-inspired anticancer drug development and establishment of patient-originated organotypic tissue slice culture model to test the efficacy of anti-neoplastic drugs. In late 2019, he joined Penn State University as a research assistant professor and pursued his research towards understanding the role of selenium and selenoproteins in inflammation. Misra joined as an assistant research professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology in August 2023. His current research in the laboratory of S. Kuchipudi encompasses multiple aspects of emerging and infectious viral diseases in addition to leading an ongoing effort to study a novel class of oncolytic viruses.
Misra’s ongoing research comprise the following areas:
- Preclinical studies on the efficacy and safety of a novel class of oncolytic viruses.
- Genetic evolution of influenza viruses and host factors determining viral tropism.
- Host receptors important for viral attachment and entry.
