Associate Professor of Cell Biology
Lung regeneration
Lung stem cells
Cell plasticity
Organoid models
Lung Fibrosis
Single Cell Biology
Appointments and Affiliations
- Associate Professor of Cell Biology
- Associate Professor in Medicine
- Affiliate of the Duke Regeneration Center
- Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
Contact Information
- Email Address: purushothamarao.tata@duke.edu
- Websites:
Education
- Ph.D. University of Ulm (Germany), 2011
Awards, Honors, and Distinctions
- Rising Star Award. International Society for Regenerative Biology. 2022
- Whitehead Scholar Award. Duke University School of Medicine. 2016
- NIH K99-Pathways to Independence Award. National Institutes of Health. 2015
- The Fund for Medical Discovery (FMD) Research Award. Massachusetts General Hospital. 2014
Courses Taught
- PHARM 730: Stem Cell Course
- MOLCAN 730: Stem Cell Course
- DSCB 720: Stem Cell Course
- CMB 720: Modern Techniques in Cell and Molecular Biology
- CMB 710F: Cell & Molecular Biology Module VI
- CMB 710E: Cell & Molecular Biology Module V
- CMB 710D: Cell & Molecular Biology Module IV
- CELLBIO 730: Stem Cell Course
- CELLBIO 493: Research Independent Study
In the News
- Study Provides Clues to Developing Better Treatments for Lung Damage (Nov 15, 2…
- Tata to Receive International Society for Regenerative Biology Rising Star Awar…
- NIH-Directors blog- Mini-Lungs in a Lab Dish Mimic Early COVID-19 Infection (No…
- Lab-Grown Mini-Lungs Mimic the Real Thing – Right Down to Covid Infection (Oct …
- SARS-CoV-2 Targets Many Cell Types, Analysis of Single-Cell Data Suggests (May …
- Scientists Find Stomach Cells In Lung Cancer (Mar 26, 2018)
- Purushothama Tata: So Many Ideas, So Little Time (Oct 2, 2016)
Representative Publications
- Polkoff, Kathryn M., Ross Lampe, Nithin K. Gupta, Yanet Murphy, Jaewook Chung, Amber Carter, Jeremy M. Simon, et al. “Novel Porcine Model Reveals Two Distinct LGR5 Cell Types during Lung Development and Homeostasis.” Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 72, no. 5 (May 2025): 496–509. https://doi.org/10.1165/rcmb.2024-0040OC.
- Börner, Katy, Philip D. Blood, Jonathan C. Silverstein, Matthew Ruffalo, Rahul Satija, Sarah A. Teichmann, Gloria J. Pryhuber, et al. “Human BioMolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP): 3D Human Reference Atlas construction and usage.” Nat Methods 22, no. 4 (April 2025): 845–60. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-024-02563-5.
- Forrester, Michael T., Jacob R. Egol, Sinan Ozbay, Farrah D. Waddell, Rohit Singh, and Purushothama Rao Tata. “Topology-driven discovery of transmembrane protein S-palmitoylation.” J Biol Chem 301, no. 3 (March 2025): 108259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2025.108259.
- Nakano, Satoko, Cait E. Hamele, Aleksandra Tata, Purushothama Rao Tata, and Nicholas S. Heaton. “Influenza B virus infection alters the regenerative potential of murine alveolar type 2 pneumocytes.” MBio 16, no. 2 (February 5, 2025): e0274324. https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.02743-24.
- Vose, Aaron, Anastasiya Birukova, Michaela Albright, Adam Schlobohm, Stavros Garantziotis, Purushothama Rao Tata, Christina Barkauskas, and Robert Tighe. “Hyaluronan Directs Alveolar Type II Cell Response to Acute Ozone Exposure in Mice.” Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol, January 6, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1165/rcmb.2024-0385OC.