Mayura received her Ph.D. from the University of Mumbai, where she worked on the tissue tropism and epidemiology of Torque Teno Virus. She was also involved in a study investigating the role of human Bcl-2 gene in DEN-induced apoptosis of hepatocytes. Being interested in the immune correlates of protection against hepatotropic viruses, she is currently studying the mechanisms of immune evasion by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) non-structural (NS) proteins. She has generated transgenic mice expressing the HCV NS proteins in the liver and plans to use them as a model to probe the immuno-modulatory role of these proteins in vivo. A better understanding of the viral control of host immunity is paramount for therapeutic intervention of chronic HCV infection. Her long term career goal is to work as an independent academic scientist. Research Project: Role of HCV NS proteins in regulating innate immunity in the liver.