Dr. Mukesh Kumar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at Georgia State University and serves as the Director of the Molecular Basis of Disease (MBD) program. He is a virologist and immunologist with expertise in RNA virus–host interactions. His laboratory investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurotropic virus pathogenesis, with particular emphasis on understanding how flavivirus infections lead to brain dysfunction. Dr. Kumar’s group has developed various in vitro and in vivo model systems to study the pathogenesis of positive-sense RNA viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, WNV, POWV, and ZIKV.