Dr Indrani Mukhopadhya

External Memberships

Member of the Microbiology Society

Member of the British Society of Immunology (BSI)

Member of the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG)

Member of the UK Gut Microbiota for Health Expert Panel 

STEM Ambassador

Research Overview

• To underpin the role of the gut microbiota in health and disease.
• Elucidate host-pathogen interactions, pathogenic mechanisms, and immune response of enteric microbes.
• Investigate the mechanism by which gut viruses initiate chronic inflammation in the aetiopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease and other gastrointestinal diseases.
• Harness the power of gut microbes as novel therapeutic agents.

Current Research

Comparison of microbial signatures between paired faecal and rectal biopsy samples from healthy volunteers using next generation sequencing and culturomics

IBD goes viral - Understanding the causes of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Knowledge Exchange

• Institute of Medical Sciences, UoA, Doors open day, 2024
• Grampian Liver Research Patient Engagement Event -presentation on Gut Microbiota in liver disease, 2024
• Podcast on Next generation biotherapeutics 2023 Podcast link
• Institute of Medical Sciences, UoA, Doors open day, 2023
• University of Aberdeen May fest 2019, Fantastic Microbes and Where to Find Them.
• Café MED talk on IBD research aimed at a general audience, June 2018
• University of Aberdeen May fest 2017, Man vs Microbes Quiz, aimed to test and enhance public knowledge of microbiology and measures to stay safe from
• Filmed for a short video clip describing my ISSF project (2016), which is now hosted on the ISSF@Aberdeen university website and also on the college YouTube channel

Funding and Grants

• IMS PhD studentship - Oct 2023-2027
• Laboratory start-up fund from Institute of Medical Sciences, UoA - Nov 2022

• Health Protection Scotland grant awarded in Feb 2019 for genotyping of representative rotavirus isolates post introduction of rotavirus vaccine in Scotland – PI

• Wellcome Trust ISSF @ Aberdeen fellowship support award, from October 2015 to March 2016, for the project titled “Role of the enteric virome and its interaction with the bacterial and fungal microbiome in the aetiopathogenesis of Crohn’s disease” – PI

• Health Protection Scotland grant awarded in March 2015 for genotyping of representative rotavirus isolates post introduction of rotavirus vaccine in Scotland – Co-PI

• NHS Grampian Endowment Funding Grant 2014/2015 for the project titled “Elucidating the Role of Non Jejuni/coli-Campylobacter in the Development of Colorectal Cancer Utilising Comparative Genomics to Study their Pathogenetic Potential” – PI

Teaching Responsibilities

Undertake lectures, workshops, practicals, tutorials and assessments for microbiology and immunology courses at the University.

Non-course Teaching Responsibilities

• Supervising BSc Honours and MSc projects
• Personal Tutor for UoA students
• Placement Tutor for MSci students