Rohit K. Jangra, PhD, MVSc, BVSc & AH (≍DVM)
Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
BVSc & AH (≍DVM) - Veterinary Medicine, 2002, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India
MVSc - Veterinary Virology, 2004, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, UP, India
PhD - Microbiology and Immunology, 2010, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas
Post-Doctoral Fellow - Microbiology, 2010-12, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
Post-Doctoral Fellow - Microbiology and Immunology, 2012-17, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
Research Assistant Professor - Microbiology and Immunology, 2017-21, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
News
June 25, 2025
Ridwan's and Ramandeep's Nature Communications paper is accepted!
June 22, 2025
Rohit gives a talk at the ASM Microbe 2025!
June 12-13, 2025
Rohit serves on an NIH Study Section!
May 30, 2025
Cierra, Nahomi, and Ridwan present posters at the Graduate Research Day, 2025!
May 18-23, 2025
Rohit presents a poster at the GRC Viruses and Cells 2025!
May 15, 2025
Ridwan presents his PhD research proposal!
April 16, 2025
Cierra and Nahomi's PLoS Biology paper has been published!
April 10, 2025
Rohit gets an Excellence in Scholarly Activity Award at the 7th Annual Research Celebration at LSUHS!
January 15, 2025
A Cell Host and Microbe paper with Rohit as a co-senior author is published!
November 14-17, 2024
Rohit gives a talk at the 65th Annual Conference of the Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI)!
November 7-9, 2024
Rohit gives a talk at the ASM-SCB KY-TN joint meeting!
August 9, 2024
Jangra Lab gets an R56 award from the NIH!
July 31, 2024
Lacie Johnson presents her research at the PHIIRE Poster Presentation Event!
July 25, 2024
Jaylen Pruiett wins the second position prize for his poste at the UGRAP poster day!
June 24-28, 2024
Rohit convenes a Bunyavirus workshop at the ASV 2024!
Rohit gives a talk at the ASV 2024!
Nahomi gives a talk at the ASV 2024!
Ramandeep presents her poster and Flash Talk at the ASV 2024!
Cierra presents her poster at the ASV 2024!
June 16-19, 2024
Rohit gives a talk at the NISBRE 2024!
June 5, 2024
Cierra presents her PhD research proposal!
June 4, 2024
Ridwan passes his Qualifying and Preliminary Exams for PhD!
October 29, 2022
Nahomi Guerra wins the best poster award at ASM-SCB 2022 in the PhD student category!
Lohit Khera wins the best poster award at ASM-SCB 2022 in the postdoc category!
October 27-29, 2022
Cierra, Lohit, Nahomi & Rohit present their research at ASM-SCB 2022 meeting
September 28, 2022
Upendra Lambe joins as a postdoc!
September 12, 2022
Ramandeep Kaur joins as a postdoc!
June 6, 2022
Annushka Noor joins as a Summer Undergraduate Student!
April 6, 2022
Jangra Lab joins NIH-funded CAIPP CoBRE grant!
January 26, 2022
Jangra Lab gets an R21 grant from the NIH!
December 10, 2021
Nahomi Guerra joins as a PhD Student!
December 10, 2021
Cierra Word joins as a PhD student!
September 15, 2021
Lohit Khera joins as a postdoc!
Research
Hantaviruses & Coronaviruses
Carried by rodents and bats, the two largest groups of mammals on the planet, hantaviruses and coronaviruses pose high risk of animal-to-human (zoonotic) spillover. We seek to understand the molecular compatibilities, or lack thereof, which determine the ability of these deadly viruses to infect and replicate in human and non-human cells.
Using BSL2 surrogate systems (and eventual confirmation with the authentic virus agents, whenever possible), we plan to define the viral and host determinants of virus entry and infection at the molecular level.
(Re)-Emerging RNA Virus Entry & Replication
The long-term goal of the Jangra Lab is to delineate the molecular determinants of host susceptibility (capacity for virus entry) and permissiveness (capacity for virus replication) of (Re)-Emerging RNA viruses such as hantaviruses and bunyaviruses. Carried by a variety of animals, including rodents and bats, these viruses pose significant global public health risk and have a high likelihood of zoonotic spillover. The requirement for biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) containment and lack of authentic isolates for a majority of these viruses has limited research on them. Surrogate viruses such as recombinant vesicular stomatitis viruses (rVSVs) pseudotyped with heterologous entry glycoproteins provide excellent tools for investigating virus entry and virus-host interactions at BSL-2. We have used such rVSVs to discover protocadherin-1 (PCDH1) as a novel receptor for the entry of New World hantaviruses. Jangra Lab will utilize and build upon these tools and methods to define the molecular mechanisms of virus entry and to better understand the antiviral immune responses. This knowledge can eventually be harnessed to develop prophylactic and therapeutic interventions against these viruses, whose spillover is predicted to increase due to climate change and increased overlap of human and reservoir species.
Publications
Selected Publications
- Gonzalez V, Word C, Guerra-Pilaquinga N, Mazinani M, Fawcett S, Portfors C, Falzarano D, Kell AM, Jangra RK, Banerjee A, Seifert SN, Letko M. Expanding the bat toolbox: Carollia perspicillata bat cell lines and reagents enable the characterization of viral susceptibility and innate immune responses. PLoS Biol. 2025 Apr;23(4):e3003098. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003098. eCollection 2025 Apr. PubMed PMID: 40233033; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11999112.
- Lasso G, Grodus M, Valencia E, DeJesus V, Liang E, Delwel I, Bortz RH 3rd, Lupyan D, Ehrlich HY, Castellanos AA, Gazzo A, Wells HL, Wacharapluesadee S, Tremeau-Bravard A, Seetahal JFR, Hughes T, Lee J, Lee MH, Sjodin AR, Geldenhuys M, Mortlock M, Navarrete-Macias I, Gilardi K, Willig MR, Nava AFD, Loh EH, Asrat M, Smiley-Evans T, Magesa WS, Zikankuba S, Wolking D, Suzán G, Ojeda-Flores R, Carrington CVF, Islam A, Epstein JH, Markotter W, Johnson CK, Goldstein T, Han BA, Mazet JAK, Jangra RK, Chandran K, Anthony SJ. Decoding the blueprint of receptor binding by filoviruses through large-scale binding assays and machine learning. Cell Host Microbe. 2025 Feb 12;33(2):294-313.e11. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2024.12.016. Epub 2025 Jan 15. PubMed PMID: 39818205; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11825280.
- Tse AL, Acreman CM, Ricardo-Lax I, Berrigan J, Lasso G, Balogun T, Kearns FL, Casalino L, McClain GL, Chandran AM, Lemeunier C, Amaro RE, Rice CM, Jangra RK, McLellan JS, Chandran K, Miller EH. Distinct pathways for evolution of enhanced receptor binding and cell entry in SARS-like bat coronaviruses. PLoS Pathog. 2024 Nov;20(11):e1012704. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012704. eCollection 2024 Nov. PubMed PMID: 39546542; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11602109.
- Florez C, Haslwanter D, Jangra RK. Editorial: Antiviral monoclonal antibody therapies. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2024;14:1484448. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1484448. eCollection 2024. PubMed PMID: 39450339; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11499238.
- Das PK, Gonzalez PA, Jangra RK, Yin P, Kielian M. A single-point mutation in the rubella virus E1 glycoprotein promotes rescue of recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus. mBio. 2024 Mar 13;15(3):e0237323. doi: 10.1128/mbio.02373-23. Epub 2024 Feb 9. PubMed PMID: 38334805; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10936182.
- Hsieh CL, Leist SR, Miller EH, Zhou L, Powers JM, Tse AL, Wang A, West A, Zweigart MR, Schisler JC, Jangra RK, Chandran K, Baric RS, McLellan JS. Prefusion-stabilized SARS-CoV-2 S2-only antigen provides protection against SARS-CoV-2 challenge. Nat Commun. 2024 Feb 20;15(1):1553. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45404-x. PubMed PMID: 38378768; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10879192.
- Slough MM, Li R, Herbert AS, Lasso G, Kuehne AI, Monticelli SR, Bakken RR, Liu Y, Ghosh A, Moreau AM, Zeng X, Rey FA, Guardado-Calvo P, Almo SC, Dye JM, Jangra RK, Wang Z, Chandran K. Two point mutations in protocadherin-1 disrupt hantavirus recognition and afford protection against lethal infection. Nat Commun. 2023 Jul 24;14(1):4454. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40126-y. PubMed PMID: 37488123; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10366084.
- Mittler E, Serris A, Esterman ES, Florez C, Polanco LC, O'Brien CM, Slough MM, Tynell J, Gröning R, Sun Y, Abelson DM, Wec AZ, Haslwanter D, Keller M, Ye C, Bakken RR, Jangra RK, Dye JM, Ahlm C, Rappazzo CG, Ulrich RG, Zeitlin L, Geoghegan JC, Bradfute SB, Sidoli S, Forsell MNE, Strandin T, Rey FA, Herbert AS, Walker LM, Chandran K, Guardado-Calvo P. Structural and mechanistic basis of neutralization by a pan-hantavirus protective antibody. Sci Transl Med. 2023 Jun 14;15(700):eadg1855. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adg1855. Epub 2023 Jun 14. PubMed PMID: 37315110; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11721787.
- Jangra RK, Llabrés M, Guardado-Calvo P, Mittler E, Lasso G. Editorial: Influence of Protein-Protein Interactions (PPIs) on the Outcome of Viral Infections. Front Microbiol. 2022;13:943379. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.943379. eCollection 2022. PubMed PMID: 35832810; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9272110.
- Mittler E, Wec AZ, Tynell J, Guardado-Calvo P, Wigren-Byström J, Polanco LC, O'Brien CM, Slough MM, Abelson DM, Serris A, Sakharkar M, Pehau-Arnaudet G, Bakken RR, Geoghegan JC, Jangra RK, Keller M, Zeitlin L, Vapalahti O, Ulrich RG, Bornholdt ZA, Ahlm C, Rey FA, Dye JM, Bradfute SB, Strandin T, Herbert AS, Forsell MNE, Walker LM, Chandran K. Human antibody recognizing a quaternary epitope in the Puumala virus glycoprotein provides broad protection against orthohantaviruses. Sci Transl Med. 2022 Mar 16;14(636):eabl5399. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abl5399. Epub 2022 Mar 16. PubMed PMID: 35294259; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9805701.
- Haslwanter D, Dieterle ME, Wec AZ, O'Brien CM, Sakharkar M, Florez C, Tong K, Rappazzo CG, Lasso G, Vergnolle O, Wirchnianski AS, Bortz RH 3rd, Laudermilch E, Fels JM, Mengotto A, Malonis RJ, Georgiev GI, Quiroz JA, Wrapp D, Wang N, Dye KE, Barnhill J, Dye JM, McLellan JS, Daily JP, Lai JR, Herbert AS, Walker LM, Chandran K, Jangra RK. A Combination of Receptor-Binding Domain and N-Terminal Domain Neutralizing Antibodies Limits the Generation of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Neutralization-Escape Mutants. mBio. 2021 Oct 26;12(5):e0247321. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02473-21. Epub 2021 Oct 5. PubMed PMID: 34607456; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8546647.
- Dieterle ME, Solà-Riera C, Ye C, Goodfellow SM, Mittler E, Kasikci E, Bradfute SB, Klingström J, Jangra RK, Chandran K. Genetic depletion studies inform receptor usage by virulent hantaviruses in human endothelial cells. Elife. 2021 Jul 6;10. doi: 10.7554/eLife.69708. PubMed PMID: 34232859; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8263056.
- Dieterle ME, Haslwanter D, Bortz RH 3rd, Wirchnianski AS, Lasso G, Vergnolle O, Abbasi SA, Fels JM, Laudermilch E, Florez C, Mengotto A, Kimmel D, Malonis RJ, Georgiev G, Quiroz J, Barnhill J, Pirofski LA, Daily JP, Dye JM, Lai JR, Herbert AS, Chandran K, Jangra RK. A Replication-Competent Vesicular Stomatitis Virus for Studies of SARS-CoV-2 Spike-Mediated Cell Entry and Its Inhibition. Cell Host Microbe. 2020 Sep 9;28(3):486-496.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2020.06.020. Epub 2020 Jul 3. PubMed PMID: 32738193; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7332447.
- Mittler E, Dieterle ME, Kleinfelter LM, Slough MM, Chandran K, Jangra RK. Hantavirus entry: Perspectives and recent advances. Adv Virus Res. 2019;104:185-224. doi: 10.1016/bs.aivir.2019.07.002. Epub 2019 Aug 7. PubMed PMID: 31439149; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6881143.
- Slough MM, Chandran K, Jangra RK. Two Point Mutations in Old World Hantavirus Glycoproteins Afford the Generation of Highly Infectious Recombinant Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Vectors. mBio. 2019 Jan 8;10(1). doi: 10.1128/mBio.02372-18. PubMed PMID: 30622188; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6325249.
- Jangra RK, Herbert AS, Li R, Jae LT, Kleinfelter LM, Slough MM, Barker SL, Guardado-Calvo P, Román-Sosa G, Dieterle ME, Kuehne AI, Muena NA, Wirchnianski AS, Nyakatura EK, Fels JM, Ng M, Mittler E, Pan J, Bharrhan S, Wec AZ, Lai JR, Sidhu SS, Tischler ND, Rey FA, Moffat J, Brummelkamp TR, Wang Z, Dye JM, Chandran K. Protocadherin-1 is essential for cell entry by New World hantaviruses. Nature. 2018 Nov;563(7732):559-563. doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0702-1. Epub 2018 Nov 21. PubMed PMID: 30464266; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6556216.
- Kleinfelter LM, Jangra RK, Jae LT, Herbert AS, Mittler E, Stiles KM, Wirchnianski AS, Kielian M, Brummelkamp TR, Dye JM, Chandran K. Haploid Genetic Screen Reveals a Profound and Direct Dependence on Cholesterol for Hantavirus Membrane Fusion. mBio. 2015 Jun 30;6(4):e00801. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00801-15. PubMed PMID: 26126854; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4488941.
- Jangra RK, Mittler E, Chandran K. Filovirus entry into susceptible cells. In: Pattnaik AK, Whitt MA, editors. Biology and Pathogenesis of Rhabdo- and filoviruses [Internet] USA: World Scientific Publishing Company; 2015. Chapter 19; p.487-514. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1142/9394.
- Shimakami T, Yamane D, Jangra RK, Kempf BJ, Spaniel C, Barton DJ, Lemon SM. Stabilization of hepatitis C virus RNA by an Ago2-miR-122 complex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jan 17;109(3):941-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1112263109. Epub 2012 Jan 3. PubMed PMID: 22215596; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3271899.
- Jangra RK, Yi M, Lemon SM. DDX6 (Rck/p54) is required for efficient hepatitis C virus replication but not for internal ribosome entry site-directed translation. J Virol. 2010 Jul;84(13):6810-24. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00397-10. Epub 2010 Apr 14. PubMed PMID: 20392846; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2903299.
- Jangra RK, Yi M, Lemon SM. Regulation of hepatitis C virus translation and infectious virus production by the microRNA miR-122. J Virol. 2010 Jul;84(13):6615-25. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00417-10. Epub 2010 Apr 28. PubMed PMID: 20427538; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2903297.
- Jangra RK, Tosh C, Sanyal A, Hemadri D, Bandyopadhyay SK. Antigenic and genetic analyses of foot-and-mouth disease virus type A isolates for selection of candidate vaccine strain reveals emergence of a variant virus that is responsible for most recent outbreaks in India. Virus Res. 2005 Sep;112(1-2):52-9. doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2005.03.021. Epub 2005 Apr 25. PubMed PMID: 16022900.
Complete List of my Published Work in MyBibliography: LEARN MORE
TEAM
Positions
Post-doctoral Fellows
While we are not currently recruiting Post-doctoral Fellows, quality candidates will always be considered. To enquire about opportunities, contact Dr. Jangra at Rohit.Jangra@lsuhs.edu.
Graduate Students
Graduate students interested in conducting research in the Orr lab should review the current laboratory research directions and contact Dr. Jangra at Rohit.Jangra@lsuhs.edu.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
We are not currently hiring any additional undergraduates.
CONTACT
Contact Us
LSU Health Shreveport
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
1501 Kings Hwy
Shreveport, LA 71103
Email:
Rohit.Jangra@lsuhs.edu.
Office: 318-675-4707
Jangra Lab
Jangra Lab
Jangra Lab
