Dr. Kumar leads the Molecular Diagnostic Development Lab at the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. This lab is focused on developing highly sensitive and specific molecular assays for rapid detection of emerging and zoonotic pathogens. His lab is also working on next generation sequencing using Illumina MiSeq for the last three years and recently started using Nanopore MinIONTM for whole genome sequencing and disease diagnosis. Development, optimization and validation of molecular assays are routine performed.

Dr. Kumar’s research interests are: (1) knowledge-based approaches to detect, control & prevent endemic, emerging & zoonotic pathogens (mainly viruses), and (2) pathogenesis of respiratory and enteric diseases that involve exploration of complex interactions among pathogen, host, and environment.