Mondira Kundu, MD, PhD
Mondira Kundu, MD, PhD

Mondira Kundu, MD, PhD

Member, St. Jude Faculty

Departments

Education

MD, PhD – Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Post-doctoral Fellowship – Translational and Functional Genomics Branch, NHGRI/NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
Residency (Clinical Pathology) – Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fellowship (Hematopathology) – Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Honors & Awards

  • 2017 Elected Member, American Society of Clinical Investigators
  • 2012 American Society of Hematology Junior Faculty Scholar Award
  • 2006 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences
  • 2006 American Society of Hematology Fellow Scholar Award
  • 2001 American Society of Bone and Mineral Research Young Investigator Award
  • 2000 Outstanding research presentation award, NHGRI annual retreat
  • 2000 Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Fellowship Award
  • 1999 National Science Foundation Fellowship Award
  • 1996 William Potter Wear Research Prize, Jefferson Medical College
  • 1991 Gibbon’s Scholar Fellowship, Jefferson Medical College
  • 1991 Foederor Scholarship Award, Jefferson Medical College

Research Interests

As a pathologist and basic scientist, my research is motivated by a desire to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying disease pathogenesis to gain insight into normal biological processes and to guide the development of improved diagnostic tools and therapies. We aim to explore the consequences of mutations (either naturally occurring or engineered) on the biochemical properties of proteins, their behavior in cells and impact on cellular physiology in model organisms.  Current projects are aimed at elucidating the impact of somatic mtDNA mutations on the development of cancer and cancer sequelae, and the role of trafficking and autophagy defects in the pathogenesis  of neuromuscular disorders.

Kundu Research Lab

Contact Information

Mondira Kundu, MD, PhD Cell & Molecular Biology MS 343, Room D4026C St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 262 Danny Thomas Place Memphis, TN 38105-3678

St. Jude Faculty List

Related Topics

News Releases

Selected Publications

Wang B, Iyengar R, Li-Harms X, Joo JH, Wright C, Lavado A, Horner L, Yang M, Guan JL, Frase S, Green DR, Cao X, Kundu M. The autophagy-inducing kinases, ULK1 and ULK2, regulate axon guidance in the developing mouse forebrain via a noncanonical pathway. Autophagy Nov 3:1-16, 2017.

Farhan H, Kundu M, Ferro-Novick S. The link between autophagy and secretion: a story of multitasking proteins. Molecular Biology of the Cell 28(9):1161-1164, 2017.

Wang B, Kundu M. Canonical and noncanonical functions of ULK/Atg1. Current Opinion in Cell Biology 45:47-54, 2017.

Joo JH, Wang B, Frankel E, Ge L, Xu L, Iyengar R,  Li-Harms X, Wright C, Shaw TI, Lindsten T, Green DR, Peng J, Hendershot LM, Kilic F, Sze JY, Audhya A, Kundu M. The Noncanonical Role of ULK/ATG1 in ER-to-Golgi Trafficking Is Essential for Cellular Homeostasis. Mol Cell 62:491-506, 2016. *Highlighted in Zhao YG and Zhang H. The Incredible ULKs: Autophagy and Beyond. Molecular Cell 63:475-476, 2016. 

Joshi A, Iyengar R, Joo JH, Li-Harms XJ, Wright C, Marino R, Winborn BJ, Phillips A, Temirov J, Sciarretta S, Kriwacki R, Peng J, Shelat A, Kundu M. Nuclear ULK1 promotes cell death in response to oxidative stress through PARP1. Cell Death Differ 23:216-230, 2016.

Lim J, Lachenmayer L, Wu S, Liu W, Kundu M, Wang R, Komatsu M, Oh YJ, Zhao Y, Yue Z. Proteotoxic Stress Induces Phosphorylation of p62/SQSTM1 by ULK1 to Regulate Selective Autophagic Clearance of Protein Aggregates PLoS Genet 11:e1004987, 2015.

Li-Harms X, Milasta S, Lynch J, Wright C,Joshi A, Iyengar R, Neale G, Wang X, Wang Y-D, Prolla TA, Thompson JE, Opferman JT, Green DR, Schuetz J, Kundu M. Mito-protective autophagy is suppressed in erythroid cells of mtDNA mutator mice. Blood 125:162-74, 2015.

Kim NC, Tresse E, Kolaitis RM, Molliex A, Thomas RE, Alami NH, Wang B, Joshi A, Smith RB, Ritson GP, Winborn BJ, Moore J, Lee JY, Yao TP, Pallanck L, Kundu M, Taylor JP. VCP Is Essential for Mitochondrial Quality Control by PINK1/Parkin and this Function Is Impaired by VCP Mutations. Neuron 78:65-80, 2013.

Joo JH, Dorsey FC, Joshi A, Hennessy-Walters KM, Rose KL, McCastlain K, Zhang J, Iyengar R, Jung CH, Suen DF, Steeves MA, Yang CY, Prater SM, Kim DH, Thompson CB, Youle RJ, Ney PA, Cleveland JL, Kundu M. Hsp90-Cdc37 chaperone complex regulates Ulk1- and Atg13 -mediated mitophagy. Molecular Cell 43:572-585, 2011.

Kim J, Kundu M, Viollet B, Guan KL. AMPK and mTOR regulate autophagy through direct phosphorylation of Ulk1. Nat Cell Biol 13:132-141, 2011.

Egan DF, Shackelford DB, Mihaylova MM, Gelino SR, Kohnz RA, Mair W, Vasquez DS, Joshi A, Gwinn DM, Taylor R, Asara JM, Fitzpatrick J, Dillin A, Viollet B, Kundu M, Hansen M, Shaw RJ. Phosphorylation of ULK1 (hATG1) by AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Connects Energy Sensing to Mitophagy. Science 331:456-61, 2011.

Last update: June 2021

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