Atul Kumar

Dr. Atul Kumar's group at the Department of Biological Sciences, IISER Bhopal, has uncovered the mechanism behind ISGylation, a crucial cellular defense process activated during pathogen infection. Their findings, published in Cell Reports, reveal why a single enzyme, HERC5, is uniquely responsible for attaching ISG15, a small protein that helps orchestrate the body's antiviral response. The study shows that among hundreds of related enzymes in human cells, HERC5 possesses a specialized molecular architecture that allows it to recognize and transfer ISG15 with remarkable precision. By deciphering this mechanism, the team was also able to re-engineer cellular machinery, successfully converting an ISG15-modifying enzyme into a ubiquitin-modifying enzyme, and vice versa. These discoveries offer important insights into how cells distinguish between different molecular signals during infection, opening new possibilities for designing therapies that target immune and infectious diseases. Congratulations to Dr. Atul Kumar and his team on this significant contribution to our understanding of cellular immunity and cell signaling. 🔗𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸: cell.com/cell-reports/fullte… @EduMinOfIndia @IndiaDST @DBTIndia @ANRFIndia #IISERBhopal #ResearchAtIISERBhopal #CellReports #ISGylation #Immunology #MolecularBiology #LifeSciences #CellBiology #GlobalScience

We are delighted to share that Ms. Mohini Sherawat, PhD Scholar, Department of Biological Sciences, IISER Bhopal, has been awarded the Young Scientist Award (Biology – 1st Prize) at the 41st M.P. Young Scientist Congress (26–28 February 2026). Mohini's research uncovers a novel mechanism of host defense involving the ubiquitination of an interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) in response to viral infections. She further elucidates how the ubiquitinated ISG evades cleavage by the viral protease PLpro, which is known to hijack host defense machinery through its deISGylation activity. Please join us in congratulating Mohini on this remarkable achievement and wishing her continued success in her scientific journey! @EduMinOfIndia @IndiaDST @DBTIndia @anrf @dasgobardhan #IISEBhopal #YoungScientist #ResearchExcellence #Biology #AcademicAchievement