Mrinal K Sarkar, PhD
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About
Mrinal Sarkar, PhD, is an Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Michigan. He is a member of the Skin Immunology and Autoimmunity Research Program and serves as Associate Director of the Functional Analytics Core within the U-M Skin Research Center.
Dr. Sarkar’s research focuses on the functional characterization of genetic variants involved in psoriasis and other autoimmune skin diseases.
He earned his PhD in Biochemistry from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India, in 2010 and completed postdoctoral training in the U-M Department of Human Genetics. Dr. Sarkar joined Dr. Johann Gudjonsson’s laboratory in Dermatology in 2014, was appointed Research Investigator in 2016, promoted to Assistant Research Scientist in 2020, and advanced to Associate Research Scientist in 2025.
Research Overview
• Psoriasis
• Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus (CLE)
• Keratinocytes
• Type I Interferons
• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
• Interferon kappa
Recent Publications
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Jiang R, Kirma J, Fox J, Xing X, Wang J, Sarkar MK, Bogle R, Do T, Coon A, Cole C, Plazyo O, Rew JE, Zhang H, Kahlenberg JM, Billi AC, Bachelez H, Tsoi LC, Harms PW, Shao S, Chen X, Gudjonsson JE. Nature Communications, 2026 Dec 1; 17 (1):Journal ArticleDynamic neutrophil-keratinocyte communication network centered on IL-36/TNFSF15 responses characterizes inflammatory responses in generalized pustular psoriasis
DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-67917-9 PMID: 41436466 -
Jiang R, Blauvelt A, Shi L, Tsoi LC, Bogle R, Fox J, Gharaee-Kermani M, Chen L, Zhang H, Xing X, Sarkar MK, Plazyo O, Kahlenberg JM, Billi AC, Matheson RT, Photowala H, Ehst BD, Gudjonsson JE. Immunity, 2026 Jun 9; 59 (6): 1758 - 1775.e6.Journal ArticleA longitudinal atlas of human psoriatic skin reveals the mechanisms of anti-IL-23 therapy in disrupting the type 17 inflammatory circuit
DOI:10.1016/j.immuni.2026.05.002 PMID: 42208526 -
Zhang H, Patrick MT, Sarkar MK, Bogle R, Li Q, Uppala R, Perez White BE, Petukhova L, Dand N, Stuart PE, Christiano AM, Simpson MA, Barker JN, Weidinger S, Modlin RL, Betz RC, Khanna D, Varga J, Kahlenberg JM, He K, Elder JT, Zhou X, Gudjonsson JE, Tsoi LC. J Allergy Clin Immunol, 2026 May 26;Journal ArticleMulti-cytokine based TWAS for seven inflammatory skin disorders identify candidate causal genes in keratinocytes.
DOI:10.1016/j.jaci.2026.05.013 PMID: 42203178 -
Gudjonsson JE, Bier K, Gaulis S, Tsoi LC, Cardner M, Sarkar MK, Coon A, Cole C, Kärner J, Fernandez A, Peters T, Eidsmo L, Iversen L, Jagiello P, Ferrero E, Kolbinger F, Lohmann F, Conrad C. J Allergy Clin Immunol, 2026 May 25;Journal ArticleEarly intervention with secukinumab prevents epigenetic scar development in new-onset psoriasis - STEPIn Mechanistic Sub-study results.
DOI:10.1016/j.jaci.2026.04.028 PMID: 42191094 -
Ayers JL, Parihar A, Tiwaa A, Aravind A, Martin MC, Pence K, Tam CJ, Sutter N, Skruber K, Sarkar MK, Gudjonsson JE, Simpson CL. 2026 May 23;PreprintHailey-Hailey disease models identify synergistic therapeutic effects of MEK and ROCK inhibition.
DOI:10.64898/2026.05.20.726679 PMID: 42239391 -
Plazyo O, Chopp LB, Peela R, Young K, Zhang H, Bogle R, Hesson A, Langen ES, Bergin IL, Syu L-J, Erba J, Kirma J, Dey P, Zhang L, Sarkar MK, Swindell WR, Gallagher KA, Ward NL, Singer K, Kahlenberg JM, Billi AC, Dlugosz AA, Ganesh SK, Tsoi LC, Gudjonsson JE. Circulation, 2026 Apr 9;Journal ArticleDefective Trophoblast Differentiation, Endothelial Dysfunction, and Immune Dysregulation in Preeclampsia Coalesce on a Placental VGLL3-Centered Gene Network.
DOI:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.125.076218 PMID: 41953989 -
Cohen E, Xu Y, Ghodke S, Orosco A, Wang D, Johnson CN, Steen K, Sarkar MK, Özlü N, Tsoi LC, Gudjonsson JE, Marchal L, Hovnanian A, Parent CA, Coulombe PA. Sci Transl Med, 2026 Apr 8; 18 (844): eadx9123Journal ArticleKeratin 16 inhibits type I interferon responses in differentiating keratinocytes of stressed and diseased skin.
DOI:10.1126/scitranslmed.adx9123 PMID: 41950305 -
Durgin JS, Veniaminova NA, Huyge TJ, Tsai SY, Fox J, Cai Y, Sarkar MK, Tsoi LC, Gudjonsson JE, Wong SY. Jci Insight, 2026 Feb 9; 11 (3):Journal ArticleSpatial transcriptomics identifies differentiation, lipid metabolism, and retinoid pathway alterations in acne vulgaris
DOI:10.1172/jci.insight.198021 PMID: 41657309
