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Ka Pui Sharon Yau, PhD

University of California San Diego

Ka Pui Sharon Yau, Ph.D., Division of Host-Microbe Systems & Therapeutics, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093

I am a postdoctoral scholar in the laboratories of Dr. Fatemeh Askarian, Dr. Victor Nizet, and Dr. Karsten Zengler at the University of California, San Diego. My research focuses on understanding how innate immune responses regulate infectious disease outcomes, with particular emphasis on inflammasome signaling, host–pathogen interactions, and infection-induced tissue injury. I integrate microbiology, immunology, proteomics, advanced imaging, and animal models to uncover the molecular mechanisms that govern host defense and inflammatory disease. My research interests center on developing host-directed therapies that enhance antimicrobial immunity while limiting inflammatory tissue injury during severe infectious diseases.

My most recent publication in Nature Communications demonstrated that distinct developmental stages of the human fungal pathogen Coccidioides differentially activate inflammasome signaling to regulate pulmonary inflammation and disease severity. I am currently part of an ARPA-H-funded collaborative program involving UC San Diego, UC Berkeley, and Northwestern University to develop microbiome-based therapeutics that prevent respiratory infections. My research investigates how members of the native lung microbiome can protect against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection by integrating quantitative proteomics, metabolomics, microbiome profiling, multiplex imaging, and immunological analyses to define mechanisms of colonization resistance and host protection.

I am broadly interested in bacterial and fungal pathogenesis and use multidisciplinary approaches spanning microbial genetics, systems biology, and animal models of infection. My long-term goal is to establish an independent research program focused on developing host-directed therapies that enhance antimicrobial immunity while limiting inflammatory tissue injury during severe infectious diseases.

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