Assistant Professor
UNC-Chapel Hill

Education and Training

Dr. Bhatt has studied the interplay between persistent microorganisms and the host in a variety of physiologic contexts. As a graduate student, she discovered the mechanisms by which a persistent oncogenic herpesvirus induces cancer by reprogramming host cellular signaling and metabolism. During her postdoctoral training with Dr. Matthew Redinbo, she worked alongside structural and chemical biologists to uncover mechanisms by which the intestinal microbiota impacts the incidence and progression of cancer, and how microbial enzymes alter the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer compounds. In collaboration with Dr. Nancy Allbritton, she has developed tools to study host- microbe-drug interactions ex vivo using organotypic cell culture platforms. 

Area of Interest

Dr. Bhatt’s research group is focused on unraveling the complex biochemistry through which intestinal bacteria alter xenobiotic and endobiotic substances, and the effect on the host. Her lab utilizes primary human cells, representative human intestinal bacteria, and gnotobiotic mouse models to understand how intestinal bacteria modify chemotherapies.