Epithelial biology & tissue repair
How mechanical cues and cellular state are integrated to initiate and coordinate the wound-healing response.
HOST DEFENSE · INFECTION BIOLOGY · BIOLOGICAL STANDARDS
Understanding how biological systems respond to injury, infection and viral challenge—and how robust reference materials can make biomedical testing more reliable.
The Bhatt Lab investigates the cellular mechanisms that connect tissue injury, wound repair and antimicrobial defense, with a focus on epithelial cells and the innate immune molecules they deploy.
NCBS
C-CAMP
Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence
RESEARCH
From mechanisms of host defense to reproducible biomedical measurement.
We study how epithelial cells sense stress and injury, coordinate repair, and mobilize innate defenses against microbial and viral threats.
Antimicrobial peptide biology
How epithelial cells regulate the production and secretion of endogenous antimicrobial peptides as part of innate defense.
Viral infection & host defense
Understanding how epithelial barriers and host-derived molecules influence microbial and viral infection at tissues.
Biological reference standards
Development and characterization of reference materials and assay systems to support reproducible virus detection and biological testing, including SARS-CoV-2 and dengue virus serotypes.
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The skin is not simply a barrier. It is an active biological system that senses damage, repairs itself and mobilizes defenses against infection.
A research approach spanning mechanism, infection biology and reproducible measurement.
PEOPLE
The lab
Team photographs and individual profiles will be added here.
TB
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Tanay Bhatt
Research in epithelial biology, wound healing, antimicrobial peptide biology and host defense.
NCBS · C-CAMP · Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence
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Team profiles
Student and researcher profiles will appear here.
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Lab photographs
Add group and laboratory photographs when ready.
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Alumni
Former members can be archived in a dedicated section.
PUBLICATIONS
Selected academic work
A starting publication list; the full list can be expanded and linked to PubMed, DOI or publisher pages.
2019
Sustained Secretion of the Antimicrobial Peptide S100A7 Is Dependent on the Downregulation of Caspase-8.
Cell Reports · DOI 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.10.090
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2022
Initiation of wound healing is regulated by the convergence of mechanical and epigenetic cues.
PLOS Biology · DOI 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001777
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2023
Niacinamide enhances cathelicidin mediated SARS-CoV-2 membrane disruption.
Frontiers in Immunology · DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1255478
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2025
12-Hydroxystearic acid induces epidermal keratinocytes to secrete antimicrobial peptides that are potent inhibitors of viral infection.
bioRxiv · DOI 10.1101/2025.07.01.662536
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NEWS
Research updates
This can become a lightweight lab news feed: papers, talks, new members, awards and conferences.
Bhatt Lab website launched
The first version of the lab site is now online. Research, people, publications and laboratory updates will be added here.
From wound repair to host defense
The lab's research narrative connects epithelial injury sensing, antimicrobial peptide biology and barrier defense.
CONTACT
Bhatt Lab
Academic research across epithelial biology, tissue repair and host defense.
Affiliations
National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS)
C-CAMP
Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence, Noida
Official institutional contact details will be added here.