My research primarily focuses on the CD47/SIRPa coreceptor, better known as the “don’t eat me signal.” More specifically, I investigate the role that this coreceptor plays in cutaneous Leishmaniasis. Leishmania major (L. major) is a major causative species of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). CL is the most common form of leishmaniasis, responsible for greater than 90% of reported cases. Current treatments for CL, commonly consisting of intralesional injections of pentavalent antimonials, are harsh and not widely accessible in highly endemic areas. While L. major lesions in otherwise healthy patients will typically heal spontaneously in 2-12 months, prolonged open lesions result in worse scarring and other potential complications like secondary infection. With upward estimates of 1.2 million new global cases of CL every year, there is a critical need to understand factors that allow L. major to survive, persist, and proliferate within a host. CD4+ T Cells are critical mediators of immunity to cutaneous L. major infection. Leishmania parasites are master manipulators of the immune system, and as such Leishmania infection is a prime model system for investigation of host-pathogen interactions, innate immunology, and CD4+ T cell responses. I utilize both in vitro (macrophages) and in vivo models to investigate how the CD47/SIRPa mediated "don't eat me" signal impacts CL disease progression and severity. Because CD47 is ubiquitously expressed by healthy cells, I employ multiple loxp-cre conditional knockout systems to determine where CD47/SIRPa signaling is most critical during L. major infection. In additional to innate immunity, I investigate CD4+ T cell responses. To execute these studies, I regularly use techniques such as spectral flow cytometry and live cell imaging.

Publications

Prabuddha Sarkar, Lalita Mazgaeen, Saurabh Saini, Neelam Gautam, Austin Paden, Hanna Paton, Parker Boevers, Julia Duvall, Corey Parlet, Jennifer Bermick, Prajwal Gurung, Neutrophils are key modulators of sex differences in LPS-induced shock, Blood Vessels, Thrombosis & Hemostasis, 2025, 100104, ISSN 2950-3272, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bvth.2025.100104.

Hanna Paton, Prabuddha Sarkar, Prajwal Gurung, An overview of host immune responses against Leishmania spp. infections, Human Molecular Genetics, 2025;, ddaf043, https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddaf043

Hanna Paton, How bird flu differs from seasonal flu – an infectious disease researcher explains. The Conversation. 15 April 2025. 

Honors/Awards

Graduate Student Senate Travel Award for Immunology (2025)

Graduate and Professional Student Government Travel Award for Immunology (2025)

T32 Mechanisms in Parasitism Appointee, University of Iowa (Accepted) (2024-2025)

T32 Mechanisms in Parasitism Appointee, University of Iowa (Accepted) (2025 -2026)

T32 Immunology Appointee, University of Iowa (Declined) (2024-2025)

Immunology Seminar Committee Student Representative (2023-2024)