Using transcriptional profiling and molecular microbiology to better understand and diagnose infections.
Overview of research interests
The Bhattacharyya lab pursues basic and translational research on pathogenic microbes, with a particular focus on antimicrobial resistance and transcriptional responses to antibiotic exposure, and on characterizing their impact on infected patients, including the immune responses elicited upon systemic infection such as sepsis or COVID-19. Click here for a summary poster! Specific projects include:
a novel approach that uses transcriptional profiling to rapidly identify pathogens and perform antimicrobial susceptibility testing that integrates genotypic and phenotypic information directly from clinical samples
single-cell transcriptional profiling of the immune response to systemic infection, with particular emphasis on sepsis
understanding the basis for the inoculum effect in antimicrobial efficacy, and its implications for clinical microbiological testing
Read more about the details of our work, meet our team, read about Roby’s vision for the lab, browse our latest preprints and publications, or keep up with our latest lab happenings.
About the PI
Positions & Affiliations
Assistant Professor, Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Division
Associate Member, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Faculty, Harvard PhD program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)
Education & Training
Attending physician, Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases division, 2013-present
Postdoctoral fellow, Broad Institute, 2012-2019; adviser: Deborah Hung, MD PhD
Chief Resident, Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Medicine, 2011-2012
Infectious Disease fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham & Women’s Hospital, 2010-2011; 2012-2013
Internal Medicine resident, Massachusetts General Hospital, 2007-2010
MD, University of California at San Francisco, 2007
PhD, University of California at San Francisco, “Tetrad” program (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology), 2007; thesis adviser: Wendell Lim, PhD
MS, University of Chicago, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, 1998; thesis adviser: Tobin Sosnick, PhD
BS, University of Chicago, Biological Chemistry, 1998
Interests & Hobbies
Aside from science & medicine, Roby can mainly be found chasing his two young kids around. Before fatherhood, he used to enjoy tennis, frisbee, reading, hiking, camping, and climbing imitation or occasionally real rocks and sometimes mountains. Now he enjoys tennis and sleep.