Rimi Chowdhury

Education

Ph.D. Biochemistry, University of Calcutta, India (2018)

Research Interests

Pathogens like Shigella and Salmonella are masters of strategy. Instead of attacking blindly, they can “read” chemical signals in the gut to decide when and where to strike. These signals help them know when to stay quiet, when to invade, and how to survive long enough to spread to the next host.

In the Chowdhury lab, we study this hidden conversation between bacteria and their host. Gut fatty acids can act like stoplights for Salmonella and Shigella, turning invasion genes on or off, while other chemical messengers guide bacteria to the right place in the intestine.

By figuring out how pathogens sense and respond to the body’s cues, we hope to uncover weak points in their strategy. Our ultimate goal is to use this knowledge to design new ways to outsmart pathogens and prevent disease. Students in the lab get to join this detective work through hands-on experiments in microbiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology

Selected Publications

• Shigella flexneri utilizes intestinal signals to control its virulence. Chowdhury R, Bitar PDP, Bell KE, Altier C. Gut Microbes. 2023 Dec;15(2):2256767. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2023.2256767. Epub 2023 Sep 23. PubMed PMID: 37741806; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10519361
• Carvacrol/cyclodextrin inclusion complex loaded gelatin/pullulan nanofibers for active food packaging applications. Ertan K, Celebioglu A, Chowdhury R, Sumnu G, Sahin S, Altier C, Uyar T. Food Hydrocolloids. 2023 September; 142:108864-. doi: 10.1016/j.foodhyd.2023.108864
• Antibacterial nanofibrous mat of pullulan/cinnamaldehyde-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes as a potential cloth mask layer with long-term storage stability and sacile sisposal property. Celebioglu A, Lawson C, Hsiung E, Chowdhury R, Altier C, Uyar T. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 2023 July; 11(30):11269-11280. doi: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c02598
• Salmonella invasion is controlled by competition among intestinal chemical signals. Chowdhury R, Pavinski Bitar PD, Chapman HM, Altier C. mBio. 2023 Apr 25;14(2):e0001223. doi: 10.1128/mbio.00012-23. Epub 2023 Apr 5. PubMed PMID: 37017539; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10127606
• Recombinant production of a diffusible signal factor inhibits Salmonella invasion and animal carriage. Rather MA, Chowdhury R, Pavinski Bitar PD, Altier C. Gut Microbes. 2023 Jan-Dec;15(1):2208498. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2023.2208498. PubMed PMID: 37158497; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10171134
• Antibacterial nanofibers of pullulan/tetracycline-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes for fast-disintegrating oral drug delivery. Hsiung E, Celebioglu A, Chowdhury R, Kilic ME, Durgun E, Altier C, Uyar T. J Colloid Interface Sci. 2022 Mar 15;610:321-333. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2021.12.013. Epub 2021 Dec 8. PubMed PMID: 34923270
• AraC-type regulators HilC and RtsA are directly controlled by an intestinal fatty acid to regulate Salmonella invasion. Chowdhury R, Pavinski Bitar PD, Adams MC, Chappie JS, Altier C. Mol Microbiol. 2021 Dec;116(6):1464-1475. doi: 10.1111/mmi.14835. Epub 2021 Nov 8. PubMed PMID: 34687258; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8688230
• A diffusible signal factor of the intestine dictates Salmonella invasion through its direct control of the virulence activator HilD. Chowdhury R, Pavinski Bitar PD, Keresztes I, Condo AM Jr, Altier C. PLoS Pathog. 2021 Feb;17(2):e1009357. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009357. eCollection 2021 Feb. PubMed PMID: 33617591; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7932555