Postdoctoral Fellowship, Washington University in St. Louis, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology

PhD, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

MBBS, Andhra Medical College, India

Dr. Kotagiri leads a research program at the intersection of molecular imaging, synthetic biology, cell engineering, and experimental therapeutics. His work focuses on developing technologies that make biological processes and therapeutic interventions more visible, measurable, and controllable in living systems. By integrating positron emission tomography (PET) and other imaging modalities with engineered cells, molecular probes, and computational approaches, his laboratory seeks to better understand disease biology and create new strategies for diagnosis and treatment across cardiovascular disease, infection, cancer, and inflammatory disorders.

A major focus of Dr. Kotagiri’s research is the development of programmable living systems, including engineered bacteria and immune cells, that can sense disease environments, deliver therapeutic functions, and be monitored noninvasively in vivo. His group is particularly interested in bridging the traditionally separate fields of imaging and synthetic biology to create next-generation diagnostic and therapeutic platforms. This transdisciplinary approach is aimed at advancing precision interventions in which the behavior, localization, and therapeutic activity of engineered biological systems can be tracked and optimized over time.

Dr. Kotagiri trained in medicine before completing a PhD in cell and molecular biology at the University of Arkansas, working on nanoparticle theranostics, and a postdoctoral fellowship  in the Department of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine, where he developed optical–nuclear hybrid probes and pioneered Cerenkov radiation phototherapy, a method for activating light-dependent therapeutics at depth using radionuclide decay rather than external illumination. He joined the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2026 from the University of Cincinnati's James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, where he was Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences. His research is supported by multiple NIH R01 awards from NHLBI and NCI, along with funding from the Department of Defense CDMRP and the American Heart Association, and has produced a patent portfolio spanning bacterial therapeutics and imaging technologies.

Molecular Imaging, Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Synthetic Biology, Engineered Bacteria, Live Biotherapeutics, Cell Engineering, CAR-T Cell Imaging, Immune Cell Tracking, Radiopharmaceuticals, Theranostics, Experimental Therapeutics, Image-Guided Therapy, Translational Engineering

1. Kamble NS, Thomas SC, Madaan T, Ehsani N, Sange S, Tucker K, et al., Kotagiri N. Engineered bacteria as an orally administered anti-viral treatment and immunization system. Gut Microbes. 2025;17(1):2500056.
→ tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19490976.2025.2500056 

2. Siddiqui NA, Ventrola AJ, Hartman AR, Konare T, Kamble NS, Thomas SC, Madaan T, Kharofa J, Sertorio MG, Kotagiri N. An Engineered Probiotic Platform for Cancer Epitope-Independent Targeted Radionuclide Therapy of Solid Tumors. Adv Healthc Mater. 2023;12(17):e2202870.
→ doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202202870

3. Thomas SC, Madaan T, Kamble NS, Siddiqui NA, Pauletti GM, Kotagiri N. Engineered Bacteria Enhance Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy through Stromal Remodeling of Tumors. Adv Healthc Mater. 2022;11(2):e2101487.
→ pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8770579 

4. Siddiqui NA, Houson HA, Kamble NS, Blanco JR, O'Donnell RE, Hassett DJ, Lapi SE, Kotagiri N. Leveraging copper import by yersiniabactin siderophore system for targeted PET imaging of bacteria. JCI Insight. 2021;6(10):e144880.
→ insight.jci.org/articles/view/144880 

5. Kotagiri N, Cooper ML, Rettig M, Egbulefu C, Prior J, Cui G, et al., Achilefu S. Radionuclides transform chemotherapeutics into phototherapeutics for precise treatment of disseminated cancer. Nat Commun. 2018;9(1):275.
→ nature.com/articles/s41467-017-02758-9 

6. Kotagiri N, Sudlow GP, Akers WJ, Achilefu S. Breaking the depth dependency of phototherapy with Cerenkov radiation and low-radiance-responsive nanophotosensitizers. Nat Nanotechnol. 2015;10(4):370–379.
→ pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4393353 

My laboratory develops technologies that combine molecular imaging with programmable biological therapeutics. Major areas of investigation include:

Molecular imaging of engineered cells: Development of PET reporter systems, radiotracers, and multimodal imaging strategies to noninvasively track therapeutic immune cells, bacteria, and other engineered biological systems in vivo.

Engineered bacteria and live biotherapeutics: Genetic engineering of probiotic and commensal bacteria to deliver therapeutic proteins, nanobodies, antigens, metabolites, and other biologically active molecules at disease sites.

Imaging infection and bacterial trafficking: Development of pathogen- and bacteria-selective PET imaging agents, including siderophore-based imaging approaches, to visualize bacterial infection, dissemination, and interactions with host tissues.

Cardiovascular therapeutics: Investigation of gut barrier disruption, bacterial translocation, inflammation, and engineered microbial therapeutics following myocardial injury, with molecular imaging used to study disease progression and therapeutic response.

Cancer and cell therapy: Engineering bacteria and immune cells as complementary platforms for tumor targeting, immune modulation, therapeutic delivery, and noninvasive monitoring of treatment.

Image-guided and remotely activated therapeutics: Development of approaches that use radionuclides and molecular imaging to provide spatial and temporal control over therapeutic processes.

Active:

R01HL168588
Siderophore-Based Molecular Imaging of Pulmonary Infections
07/01/2023 – 06/30/2028 National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Role: PI

R01CA279962
PET Imaging of CAR T Cell Trafficking and Persistence via Engineered Siderophore Uptake
2024 – 2029 National Cancer Institute Role: PI

24TPA1303687
Engineered Probiotic to Mitigate Heart Disease Associated Inflammation
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2027 American Heart Association Role: PI