Isita Sagar

Research Focus

I began my scientific journey as a microbiologist studying the microbiome profiles of landfill sites in India to understand the microbial processes driving greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane production, and explore strategies for their mitigation. While investigating these complex environmental microbial communities, I became increasingly interested in how microbes interact with the human body. This curiosity led me to pursue a Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology at Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, where I investigated the role of deubiquitinases in regulating intracellular bacterial survival within immune cells during acute Salmonella infection. Using diverse in vitro and in vivo models, I explored molecular interactions between host and pathogen, isolating and characterizing different immune cell populations from murine models to delineate immune signaling mechanisms.

Building on this foundation in inflammation and immunology, I joined ICTCT as a postdoctoral researcher, where my current work focuses on human mesenchymal stem cells and their immunomodulatory potential under physiologically relevant conditions. Specifically, I aim to develop and optimize strategies for culturing stem cells in 3D systems and on biomaterial-based scaffolds under physiological conditions for production of therapeutic agents. This interdisciplinary research bridges immunology, and stem cell biology, contributing to the understanding of cell–environment interactions and their translational applications in regenerative medicine.