Dr. Kohli’s laboratory focuses on the DNA modifying enzymes that provide an added layer of complexity to the genome. These enzymes can be involved in the purposeful introduction of mutations or in the chemical modification of nucleobases, making DNA into a remarkably dynamic entity. Many of these processes are at the heart of the battle between the immune system and pathogens, and others mediate the epigenetic dynamics that differentiate cells that harbor the same genome. The Kohli laboratory employs a broad array of approaches, which include biochemical characterization of enzyme mechanisms, chemical synthesis of enzyme probes, and biological assays spanning bacteriology, immunology, and virology. Dr. Kohli’s research aims to understand, perturb and harness these diversity-generating pathways.

Dr. Kohli is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry & Biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his MD and PhD from Harvard University, training in enzymology under Professor Christopher Walsh. He subsequently trained in internal medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and did his clinical and post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Kohli’s laboratory has been supported by the Rita Allen Foundation, the Doris Duke Foundation, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Mallinckrodt Foundation, the Harrington Discovery Institute, and the National Institutes of Health, including an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award.