Dr. Bennuru received his Ph.D in 2005 from the Center for Biotechnology, Anna University in Chennai, India. He joined NIH in 2005 as a post-doctoral research fellow with Dr. Thomas Nutman in the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, primarily working on cellular and molecular aspects of human filarial infections and has been a staff scientist since 2013.

Dr. Bennuru’s research focus within the Helminth Immunology Section is a multi-omic approach to understand the biology of parasitic helminths (especially human filarial infections, e.g., lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and loiasis) and the host-parasite interaction toward defining pathogenesis; to identify parasite-encoded therapeutic, diagnostic, and vaccine-related targets; and to develop biomarkers of species-specific filarial infection.

Ricciardi A, Bennuru S, Tariq S, Kaur S, Wu W, Elkahloun AG, Arakelyan A, Shaik J, Dorward DW, Nutman TB, Tolouei Semnani R. Extracellular vesicles released from the filarial parasite Brugia malayi downregulate the host mTOR pathway. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021 Jan;15(1):e0008884.

Easton A, Gao S, Lawton SP, Bennuru S, Khan A, Dahlstrom E, Oliveira RG, Kepha S, Porcella SF, Webster J, Anderson R, Grigg ME, Davis RE, Wang J, Nutman TB. Molecular evidence of hybridization between pig and human Ascaris indicates an interbred species complex infecting humans. Elife. 2020 Nov;9:e61562.

Bennuru S, Oduro-Boateng G, Osigwe C, Del Valle P, Golden A, Ogawa GM, Cama V, Lustigman S, Nutman TB. Integrating Multiple Biomarkers to Increase Sensitivity for the Detection of Onchocerca volvulus Infection. J Infect Dis. 2020 May;221(11):1805-1815.

Bennuru S, Cotton JA, Ribeiro JM, Grote A, Harsha B, Holroyd N, Mhashilkar A, Molina DM, Randall AZ, Shandling AD, Unnasch TR, Ghedin E, Berriman M, Lustigman S, Nutman TB. Stage-Specific Transcriptome and Proteome Analyses of the Filarial Parasite Onchocerca volvulus and Its Wolbachia Endosymbiont. mBio. 2016 Nov;7(6):e02028-16.

Cotton JA, Bennuru S, Grote A, Harsha B, Tracey A, Beech R, Doyle SR, Dunn M, Hotopp JC, Holroyd N, Kikuchi T, Lambert O, Mhashilkar A, Mutowo P, Nursimulu N, Ribeiro JM, Rogers MB, Stanley E, Swapna LS, Tsai IJ, Unnasch TR, Voronin D, Parkinson J, Nutman TB, Ghedin E, Berriman M, Lustigman S. The genome of Onchocerca volvulus, agent of river blindness. Nat Microbiol. 2016 Nov;2:16216.

D'Ambrosio MV, Bakalar M, Bennuru S, Reber C, Skandarajah A, Nilsson L, Switz N, Kamgno J, Pion S, Boussinesq M, Nutman TB, Fletcher DA. Point-of-care quantification of blood-borne filarial parasites with a mobile phone microscope. Sci Transl Med. 2015 May;7(286):286re4.

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Nutman TB, Bennuru S, Drame PM, inventors; The Unites States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services, assignee. Compositions and methods for detecting Loa loa. United States patent US 10,598,655. 24 March 2020.

Mitre EE, Morris C, Bennuru S, Nutman T, inventors; The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., The Unites States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services, assignee. Immunogenic compositions and vaccines for preventing or treating filarial disease. United States patent US 10,441,642. 15 Oct 2019.

Macrophages are considered a critical component of innate immunity against intracellular pathogens. Although macrophages have historically been viewed as monocyte-derived and terminally differentiated cells, recent progress has revealed that many tissue-resident macrophages are embryonically seeded, self-renewed, and perform homeostatic functions associated with M2-like activation programs. There is evidence that tissue-resident macrophages (TRMs) maintain their M2-like phenotype even in an infection-driven pro-inflammatory environment. In this regard, several intracellular pathogens, such as leishmania, are shown to exploit M2-like TRMs as replicative niches to evade pathogen-specific immunity.

Dr. Lee’s primary interests are understanding how the localized circuitries between various neuronal and immune cells, such as sensory neurons, innate lymphoid cells, and eosinophils, allow dermis resident macrophages to maintain M2-like properties and provide replicative niches for parasite growth even in a strong pro-inflammatory environment. This knowledge provides a new perspective to understand the chronicity of infections and develop therapeutic strategies which can selectively target TRMs.

Dr. Lee obtained his Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis for studies on the role of IFNg against Listeria infection. After postdoctoral study with Dr. David Sacks, he became a staff scientist in NIAID’s Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases.

Chaves MM, Lee SH, Kamenyeva O, Ghosh K, Peters NC, Sacks D. The role of dermis resident macrophages and their interaction with neutrophils in the early establishment of Leishmania major infection transmitted by sand fly bite. PLoS Pathog. 2020 Nov;16(11):e1008674.

Lee SH, Chaves MM, Kamenyeva O, Gazzinelli-Guimaraes PH, Kang B, Pessenda G, Passelli K, Tacchini-Cottier F, Kabat J, Jacobsen EA, Nutman TB, Sacks DL. M2-like, dermal macrophages are maintained via IL-4/CCL24-mediated cooperative interaction with eosinophils in cutaneous leishmaniasis. Sci Immunol. 2020 Apr;5(46):eaaz4415.

Lee SH, Charmoy M, Romano A, Paun A, Chaves MM, Cope FO, Ralph DA, Sacks DL. Mannose receptor high, M2 dermal macrophages mediate nonhealing Leishmania major infection in a Th1 immune environment. J Exp Med. 2018 Jan;215(1):357-375.

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