Dr. Kumar Perinbam

Assistant Professor

Dr. Kumar Perinbam is an Assistant Professor at the School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Dayananda Sagar University, Bengaluru, and leads the BioMechSense Lab. His research focuses on bacterial mechanobiology, with a particular emphasis on how physical forces such as shear stress, pressure, rheology, and electric fields regulate virulence, swarming motility, and biofilm formation in multidrug-resistant pathogens like Pseudomonas aeruginosa. By combining microfluidics with host–pathogen interaction models (Drosophila, waxworm, amoeba), his group explores new strategies to disrupt bacterial communication and develop non-antibiotic therapeutics against antimicrobial resistance.

Beyond pathogenesis, Dr. Perinbam is expanding his expertise into microbial biotechnology, including engineering microbes for sustainable applications such as waste-to-electricity conversion, smart protein production, and bioremediation. His work integrates synthetic biology, systems biology, and adaptive microbial evolution to address both healthcare and environmental challenges.

He is also passionate about education, designing innovative curricula in biotechnology and bioinformatics and promoting active learning pedagogy for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Through his research and teaching, Dr. Perinbam seeks to bridge fundamental microbial science with translational solutions for human health and sustainability.

Qualification - Ph.D., in Molecular Biophysics

Area of Expertise - Biophysics, Structural biology, Microbiology

Research Interests at DSU- Bacterial mechanosensation, pathogenesis, Virulence activation, Microfluidics for bacterial mechanobiology, Anti-Microbial resistance (AMR) mechanisms, Host–pathogen interactions, Waste-to-electricity microbes

Awards & Recognition

• Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)- Department of Science and Technology (DST) Award research grant for understanding mechanosensation in Bacteria. [2025-2027]
• Opportunity Award, Center for Complex Biological Systems, National Institute of General Medical Science, USA [2017-2018]
• Research and travel grant to collect X-ray diffraction data at European Synchrotron Research Facility (ESRF), Grenoble, France provided by Department of Science and Technology, India [2013].
• IISc Fellowship, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India [2009 – 2015].
• Research fellowship, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research /University Grant Commission, India [2009].
• Postgraduate Research fellowship, Department of Biotechnology, India [2008-2009].
• Postgraduate Scholarship, Combined Entrance Examination in Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India [2007-2009].
• Summer research fellowship, Cancer Research Institute, Chennai, India [2004].

Patents: “Composition and methods for inhibiting bacterial virulence and FLIM-based device and device and method for antibiotic susceptibility testing” Inventors: Albert Siryaporn, Michelle Digman, Jenu Varghese Chacko, Kumar Perinbam, Anerudh Kannan, Allon Hochbaum, Katrine Whiteson

International Application No.: PCT/US20/44301 granted on Jan, 2021. Publication Number WO/2021/022066

Lab website: https://sites.google.com/view/biomechsense/

LinkedIN profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kumar-perinbam-3423bb110/

Google scholar link https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=l7v-kbkAAAAJ&hl=en