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Ajay Akhade’s long-term research interests involve studying the dynamic interaction between the innate immune system and invading pathogens. His plans extend into the realm of research on human diseases, particularly autoinflammatory disorders and cancer. He began his journey with a bachelor's degree in Microbiology, which piqued his interest in understanding the microbial world. During this time, he performed a research project entitled 'Isolation and characterization of oligophiles and bioluminescent bacteria for biosensing,' which helped him gain basic hands-on experience in microbiology research. For his master's degree, he worked on a dissertation titled 'Metagenomic studies on soil: A culture-independent and culture-dependent approach to isolating biotechnologically important molecules,' which further expanded his knowledge in microbiology and exposed him to cutting-edge molecular biology techniques. Moving beyond studying microbes in isolation, he began graduate research in Immunology, focusing on host-pathogen interactions, which broadened his outlook by considering microbes from a pathogenic perspective. His PhD thesis focused on understanding the regulation of Toll-like receptor (TLR) activation in immune cells. Currently, in Dr. Naeha Subramanian’s lab at ISB, he is focused on understanding the function and regulation of intracellular sensors from the NOD-like receptor (NLR) family in cancer. He is ardently pursuing a comprehensive understanding of how host factors impact the expression of bacterial molecules and shape host-pathogen crosstalk. Outside of the lab, he enjoys bird watching, playing tennis (a huge Williams supporter), table tennis, and badminton, and he likes exploring national parks with the aim to visit states across the USA.