SONALI MALI

PhD, University of California, Berkeley, 2025

I completed my PhD in neuroscience at UC Berkeley, where I trained as a sensory neurobiologist studying how sensory neurons, called nociceptors, detect harmful stimuli such as mechanical forces, noxious temperatures, chemical irritants, and biological threats like pathogens and inflammatory mediators. A key discovery from my doctoral work revealed that SARS-CoV-2 activates airway-innervating sensory neurons through its viral protease PLpro, triggering sneeze, cough, and pain responses in mice. While sneezing and coughing help clear airways, they also facilitate respiratory disease transmission, raising an interesting question: do pathogens like coronaviruses exploit sensory neurons to enhance their own spread?

While some microbes like SARS-CoV-2 drive disease, many others, known as commensals, have co-evolved to benefit the host. As a postdoctoral fellow in the Littman lab, I am investigating how commensal microbes interact with immune cells and neurons to promote physiological homeostasis in the gut and vaginal mucosa in the face of dynamic environmental and developmental changes.

Outside of the lab, I enjoy cycling, reading, and eating vegan ice cream.

Selected publications and preprints:

  1. Mali, S.S., Silva, R., Gong, Z., Cronce, M., Vo, U., Vuong, C., Moayedi, Y., Cox, J.S. & Bautista, D.M. (2024). SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease activates nociceptors to drive sneeze and pain. bioRxiv. Preprint highlighted by Science, Vol 383, Issue 6681 (2024). Why does COVID-19 make you sneeze?

  2. Yoshino, J.*, Mali, S.S.*, Williams, C.R.*, Morita, T., Emerson, C.E., Arp, C.J., Miller, S.E., Yin, C., Thé, L., Hemmi, C., Motoyoshi, M., Ishii K., Emoto, K., Bautista, D.M. & Parrish, J.Z. (2025). Drosophila epidermal cells are intrinsically mechanosensitive and modulate nociceptive behavioral outputs. Elife. *Equal contributions

  3. Kern, D.M., Sorum, B.*, Mali, S.S.*, Hoel, C.M.*, Sridharan, S., Remis, J.P., Toso, D.B., Kotecha, A., Bautista, D.M. & Brohawn, S.G. (2021). Cryo-EM structure of SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a in lipid nanodiscs. Nature structural & molecular biology. 28(7), 573–582. *Equal contributions

  4. Mali, S.S. & Bautista, D.M. (2021). Basophils add fuel to the flame of eczema itch. Cell, 184 (2), 294- 296. (Preview)

  5. Slivicki, R. A., Iyer, V., Mali, S.S., Garai, S., Thakur, G. A., Crystal, J. D., & Hohmann, A. G. (2020). Positive Allosteric Modulation of CB1 Cannabinoid Receptor Signaling Enhances Morphine Antinociception and Attenuates Morphine Tolerance Without Enhancing Morphine- Induced Dependence or Reward. Frontiers in molecular neuroscience, 13, 54.

  6. Slivicki, R.A., Mali, S.S., Hohmann, A.G., (2019). Voluntary exercise reduces both chemotherapy- induced neuropathic nociception and deficits in hippocampal cellular proliferation in a mouse model of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy. Neurobiology of Pain 6, 100035.

  7. Slivicki, R.A., Xu, Z., Mali, S.S., Hohmann, A.G., (2019). Brain permeant and impermeant inhibitors of fatty-acid amid hydrolase suppress the development and maintenance of paclitaxel-induced neuropathic pain. Pharmacological Research 142, 267–282.

  8. Joshi, G. K., Deitz-McElyea, S., Liyanage, T., Lawrence, K., Mali, S., Sardar, R., & Korc, M. (2015). Label-free nanoplasmonic-based short noncoding RNA sensing at attomolar concentrations allows for quantitative and highly specific assay of microRNA-10b in biological fluids and circulating exosomes. ACS nano 9(11), 11075-11089.

  9. Joshi, G. K., Deitz-McElyea, S., Johnson, M., Mali, S., Korc, M., & Sardar, R. (2014). Highly Specific Plasmonic Biosensors for Ultrasensitive MicroRNA Detection in Plasma from Pancreatic Cancer Patients. Nano Letters 14(12), 6955–6963