PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Petros C. Karakousis, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Dr. Petros Karakousis is a Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has a joint appointment in International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
He graduated summa cum laude from the Johns Hopkins University in 1994 and received a Distinguished Alumni Scholarship to study at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society in 1998. He completed residency training in Internal Medicine in 2001 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. After completing fellowship training in Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, he joined the Department of Medicine faculty in 2005. He is the Director of the Johns Hopkins University TB Research Advancement Center (TRAC).
RESEARCH FACULTY
Styliani Karanika, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
I obtained my medical degree from the University of Athens, Medical School in July 2011. I served as a rural physician and resident in Greece until August 2013 when I joined MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas as a post-doctoral research fellow. There, I worked on projects focused mainly on DNA damage response, activation of immune signaling and mechanisms of apoptosis in in-vitro and in-vivo models. Then, I moved to Brown University in March 2015 where I ran epidemiologic studies in C. difficile, MRSA, ESBL gram negative bacteria. I was also involved in clinical trials investigating novel diagnostic nanotechnology-based molecular assays for the diagnosis of bacteremia and candidemia. Subsequently, I completed my Internal Medicine residency training at Boston University Medical Center in June 2019 and then I joined fellowship training in Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Research interest: TB vaccine, HIV, SARS-CoV-2, immunology
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Hobbies: Piano, Traveling, Cooking
POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHERS
Kathirvel Maruthai, Ph.D.
Post Doctoral Fellow
I completed my master's degree in biotechnology at Bharathidasan University, Trichy in 2010. Following that, I obtained my doctorate in 2020 at JIPMER, Puducherry in which I investigated the influence of DNA methylation and micro-RNA regulation on the host immune response in children with active-TB disease. Subsequently, I moved to the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, for my initial postdoctoral position where I focused on host-directed therapeutic targets by exploring the immune metabolism of primary human macrophages infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Presently, as a postdoc fellow at JHU, my research focuses on host-directed therapy, aiming to enhance the host immune system's effectiveness in combating TB.
In my leisure time, I derive the most pleasure from spending time with my family, indulging in reading, and traveling.
Farah Shamma, Ph.D.
Post Doctoral Fellow
I earned my Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Biotechnology at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. I graduated with a Ph.D. in Quantitative Biology from the University of Texas at Arlington. I have joined the Karakousis Lab as a post-doctoral fellow to further my interest in studying Mycobacterial antibiotic tolerance to identify potential therapeutic targets for better Mycobacterial infection management. I taught at Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh, before my doctoral and postdoctoral programs.
My research so far has focused on understanding bacterial physiology in response to environmental signals and how that might impact bacterial response to drugs. My undergrad research explored mechanisms of heavy metal stress tolerance in soil bacteria and my Master’s Thesis work looked into the environmental signal-mediated regulation of virulence in Salmonella Typhi, with a view to finding a novel therapeutic target. My doctoral and postdoctoral work aims at examining the mechanisms of antibiotic tolerance in Mycobacteria, with the end goal of discovering potential drug targets for a faster Mycobacterial infection treatment. In my doctoral research, I investigated how the post-translational regulation of Mycobacterial cell wall enzymes and regulators mediates antibiotic tolerance. My post-doctoral research focuses on revealing mechanisms of antibiotic tolerance in the stress response like the stringent response to determine potential treatment targets.
I like to: read, think, sleep, and spend time with my family and friends.
Saranya Sankar, Ph.D.
Post Doctoral Fellow
I completed my master’s and PhD in Medical Biochemistry at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), India, where I focused on epigenetic regulation of host immune responses in neonatal sepsis, integrating DNA methylation, microRNA profiling, and inflammatory cytokine analyses to understand immune dysregulation in this condition.
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As a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratories of Dr. Hamacher-Brady and Dr. Karakousis at Johns Hopkins University, my research has centered on apoptosis-inducing agents as host-directed therapies for tuberculosis, investigating how Mycobacterium tuberculosis subverts macrophage apoptosis.
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Bacteria are evolving to evade host immunity and develop multi-drug resistance, making infections difficult to cure. I want to embrace this challenge and find a new way to help the host fight back.
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Hobbies: Cooking, traveling, painting, and spending time with my family.
MASTERS STUDENTS
Anoushka Chinmayi, B.Tech
I graduated with a B.Tech in Biotechnology from PES University, India in 2023. My undergraduate research focused on antibiotic resistance in skin infections casued by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. During my internships at the Indian Institute of Science and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, I explored immune responses across various cancers using genomic data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), as well as the mechanisms of cancer initiation, specifically focusing on gastrointestinal cancers. Currently, I am in the MS Biotechnology program at the Johns Hopkins University. My research focuses on the genomic analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) antibiotic tolerance and host responses to treatment. My interests lie at the intersection of genomics and immunology to understand the molecular mechanisms of disease.
Hobbies: Playing the guitar, Singing, Running
Shweta Pillai, B.S.
I received my Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from the University at Buffalo in May 2024. During my undergraduate studies, I conducted research characterizing the differences in the human cardiac and adipose tissue secretome to investigate how adipose tissue influences cardiac function.
Currently, I am an ScM student in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. My research focuses on testing host-directed agents against Mycobacterium avium-infected human macrophages, with the goal of reducing treatment time and uncovering the mechanisms of drug action.
Hobbies: Baking, traveling, and going out with my cat.
Yue Guan, BS
I received my Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Pharmacology from China Pharmaceutical University and the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow in 2025. During my undergraduate studies, I constructed nano-enzyme based systems for the detection of disease biomarkers. I also investigated receptor mechanisms in tonsillar tissue for post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage control.
I am currently an ScM student in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at Johns Hopkins University. My research focuses on understanding the mechanism of statin-mediated host-directed defense against Mycobacterium avium in human macrophages, with an emphasis on the autophagy pathway.
Hobbies: Crochet, Cooking, Video games
CO-MENTORED MASTERS STUDENTS
Rebecca Cohen, B.S.
I received my Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Religious Studies from the College of William & Mary in May 2022. Postgrad, I worked in a lab at Massachusetts General Hospital for 3 years where we focused on genetic variants to understand the regulation of barrier defense and the immune response to Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
Currently, I am an ScM student in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. My research focuses on the role of gastrointestinal epithelial cell death in M. avium infection and gut pathology in the Hamacher-Brady lab in the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Madhavan Jayakrishnan, B.S.
I received my Bachelor of Science from Ashoka University with an Advanced Major in Biology and Chemistry in May 2025. During my undergraduate degree, I explored different areas of cell biology from studying C.elegans germline-stem cell niche regulation to characterising the role of microtubules in regulating cell-matrix adhesion dependent Golgi-organisation at IISER Pune. My undergraduate thesis research focused on the effects of hyperglycaemia and circadian entrainment on mitochondrial structure-function dynamics in Drosophila ovarian germline stem cells.
Currently, I am an ScM student in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. My research work currently investigates the role of mitochondrial ubiquitylation in the M. tuberculosis-mediated evasion of macrophage apoptosis in Dr. Hamacher-Brady's lab. More broadly, I am fascinated by the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying infectious diseases and their pathogenesis.
Outside the lab, I enjoy listening to and making music, long distance running and watching any movie.