The structural and evolutionary arms race between bacteria and bacteriophages has driven the evolution of an astonishingly diverse arsenal of prokaryotic defense systems. Research in the Majumder Lab centers on deciphering the structural blueprints, signaling logic, and molecular mechanisms governing these ancient immune pathways. Many of these systems serve as evolutionary parallels to human innate immunity and some harbor immense potential to be repurposed as next-generation biotechnological tools. Using a multidisciplinary approach combining high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), macromolecular crystallography, biochemistry, and molecular dynamics simulations , we look through the looking glass of structural biology to address a fundamental question: How do bacterial molecular machines perceive viral stress and execute precise immunological responses?
Our research group explores three primary frontiers: Signal Transduction Logic of Second Messengers, Mechanistic Diversity of Prokaryotic Defense Systems, Translating these Defense Effectors into Biomedical and Biotechnological Tools.
Learn more about our work: pujamajumder.github.io