Prithvi Raj, Ph.D.

Dr. Raj completed his doctoral training from JU, Gwalior, India. His Ph.D. thesis work was focused on epidemiological and genetic analysis of pulmonary tuberculosis in tribal groups of central India.  One of the interesting findings from this work was establishment of LDH2 & LDH3 isoforms as markers of mycobacterial infection load induced cellular stress in TB patients. His research showed that noncoding genetic polymorphisms in Vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene are associated with clinical manifestations of pulmonary TB. 

During his postdoctoral training in Wakeland laboratory in the department of immunology at UT Southwestern Medical center, he investigated genetic basis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). Using deep targeted sequencing approach, he made an important discovery demonstrating abundance of SLE associated noncoding, regulatory variations at HLA locus that impact transcription of several key genes of immune system that activate antigen presentation pathway to potentiate autoimmunity in individuals with risk genotype.  

Dr. Raj, joined the faculty of Immunology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in September 2018.  He is the Founder Director of newly established Microbiome Research Laboratory (MRL) that provide cutting edge facilities to investigate and characterize communities of microorganisms sampled from variety of sources. Dr. Raj and his team at MRL provide microbial sequencing services to basic and translational investigators that are interested in microbiome research. Raj Lab investigates pediatric bloodstream infections to perform genomic analysis of pediatric pathogens. Beside this, Raj Lab is working on developing innovative sequencing based assays for rapid detection and comprehensive characterization of microbes in blood circulation.

• Immune system and host genetics
• Microbial genomics
• Microbiome in health and disease
• Next generation sequencing

Featured Publications

The gut microbiota reprograms intestinal lipid metabolism through long noncoding RNA Snhg9.

Wang Y, Wang M, Chen J, Li Y, Kuang Z, Dende C, Raj P, Quinn G, Hu Z, Srinivasan T, Hassell B, Ruhn KA, Behrendt CL, Liang T, Dou X, Song Z, Hooper LV, Science 2023 Aug 381 6660 851-857

Macrophages regulate gastrointestinal motility through complement component 1q.

Pendse M, De Selle H, Vo N, Quinn G, Dende C, Li Y, Salinas CN, Srinivasan T, Propheter DC, Crofts AA, Koo E, Hassell B, Ruhn KA, Raj P, Obata Y, Hooper LV, Elife 2023 Apr 12

Loss-of-function variants in SAT1 cause X-linked childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus.

Xu L, Zhao J, Sun Q, Xu X, Wang L, Liu T, Wu Y, Zhu J, Geng L, Deng Y, Awgulewitsch A, Kamen DL, Oates JC, Raj P, Wakeland EK, Scofield RH, Guthridge JM, James JA, Hahn BH, McCurdy DK, Wang F, Zhang M, Tan W, Gilkeson GS, Tsao BP, Ann Rheum Dis 2022 Aug

A short plus long-amplicon based sequencing approach improves genomic coverage and variant detection in the SARS-CoV-2 genome.

Arana C, Liang C, Brock M, Zhang B, Zhou J, Chen L, Cantarel B, SoRelle J, Hooper LV, Raj P, PLoS One 2022 17 1 e0261014

Small proline-rich protein 2A is a gut bactericidal protein deployed during helminth infection.

Hu Z, Zhang C, Sifuentes-Dominguez L, Zarek CM, Propheter DC, Kuang Z, Wang Y, Pendse M, Ruhn KA, Hassell B, Behrendt CL, Zhang B, Raj P, Harris-Tryon TA, Reese TA, Hooper LV, Science 2021 11 374 6568 eabe6723

Serum amyloid A delivers retinol to intestinal myeloid cells to promote adaptive immunity.

Bang YJ, Hu Z, Li Y, Gattu S, Ruhn KA, Raj P, Herz J, Hooper LV, Science 2021 09 373 6561 eabf9232

The microbiota coordinates diurnal rhythms in innate immunity with the circadian clock.

Brooks JF, Behrendt CL, Ruhn KA, Lee S, Raj P, Takahashi JS, Hooper LV, Cell 2021 Jul

Impact of Bead-Beating Intensity on the Genus- and Species-Level Characterization of the Gut Microbiome Using Amplicon and Complete 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing.

Zhang B, Brock M, Arana C, Dende C, van Oers NS, Hooper LV, Raj P, Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021 11 678522

Deep sequencing reveals a DAP1 regulatory haplotype that potentiates autoimmunity in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Raj P, Song R, Zhu H, Riediger L, Jun DJ, Liang C, Arana C, Zhang B, Gao Y, Wakeland BE, Dozmorov I, Zhou J, Kelly JA, Lauwerys BR, Guthridge JM, Olsen NJ, Nath SK, Pasare C, van Oers N, Gilkeson G, Tsao BP, Gaffney PM, Gregersen PK, James JA, Zuo X, Karp DR, Li QZ, Wakeland EK, Genome Biol 2020 Nov 21 1 281

Endocannabinoids Inhibit the Induction of Virulence in Enteric Pathogens.

Ellermann M, Pacheco AR, Jimenez AG, Russell RM, Cuesta S, Kumar A, Zhu W, Vale G, Martin SA, Raj P, McDonald JG, Winter SE, Sperandio V, Cell 2020 Sep

 Featured Books

Genetic diversity in Indian populations: Implications for genetic susceptibility and mapping of complex genetic diseases. In Recent Trends in Biotechnology

Raj P. & P K Tiwari. (2010). New York, ) NOVA publisher, New York

• Outstanding paper award for Staphylococcus aureus genome study in children
  Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America & European Pediatric Orthopaedic Society, USA (2017-2017)
• Best Poster award
  Immunology symposium, Department of Immunology symposium UTSW, Dallas, Texas, USA (2012)
• Young Scientist Award
  Madhya Pradesh Council of Science & Technology (MPCST), India (2009)
• Best Poster award
  International conference of Medical and Community Genetics at Department of Hematology, India (2008)
• Travel award from CSIR and DBT, India
  57th Annual Meeting of American Society of Human Genetics (2007)
• University Topper Research Scholarship, University Grant Commission (UGC)
  Jiwaji University, Gwalior, M. P. India (2004-2006)

• American Association of Immunologists (AAI) (2013)
• American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) (2007)
• Indian Society of Human Genetics (ISHG) (2006)