Member, Board of Directors
- [email protected]
- Kathmandu, Nepal
Dr. Thapa is a molecular microbiologist with over a decade of research experience spanning bacterial effectors, membrane vesicles, and their role in human intestinal inflammation. He conducted his doctoral and post-doctoral research at the Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Austria, with earlier research affiliations at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences and the Medical University of Vienna. His work advanced the understanding of microbial pathogenesis and explored bacterial outer membrane vesicles as platforms for vaccine and therapeutic development, resulting in peer-reviewed publications in journals including Nature Communications, mBio, and Microbiology Spectrum, as well as an international patent on an OMV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. He currently leads Fortuna Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. as CEO, driving strategic initiatives at the interface of scientific research, healthcare innovation, and international partnerships.
His research centers on bacterial membrane vesicles, host–microbe interactions, and mucosal immunology, with particular focus on how these vesicles drive intestinal inflammation and how they can be engineered for vaccine and therapeutic use.
Representative publications include:
Proteomic and Metabolomic Profiling of extracellular vesicles produced by human gut archaea — Nature Communications, 2025
- Enrichment of human IgA-coated bacterial vesicles in ulcerative colitis as a driver of inflammation — Nature Communications, 2025
- Characterisation of the Inflammatory Response Evoked by Bacterial Membrane Vesicles in Intestinal Cells — Microbiology Spectrum, 2023
- The Two Faces of Bacterial Membrane Vesicles: Pathophysiological Roles and Therapeutic Opportunities — Antibiotics, 2023
- An Intranasal Vaccine Based on Outer Membrane Vesicles Against SARS-CoV-2 — Frontiers in Microbiology, 2021
- Outer Membrane Vesicles of Vibrio cholerae Protect and Deliver Active Cholera Toxin to Host Cells via Porin-Dependent Uptake — mBio, 2021
He holds an international patent (PCT 63/261,027, filed 09.09.2021) for an OMV-based vaccine platform against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and was recognized as an inventor at the “From Science to Innovation” award ceremony honoring inventors of the Medical University of Graz, University of Graz, and Graz University of Technology (2023).
- CEO, Fortuna Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. — June 2026 – Present
- Post-Doctoral Researcher, Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Austria — Jan 2024 – Jan 2025
- PhD Researcher, Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Austria — Oct 2019 – Jan 2024
- Research Assistant, Medical University of Vienna, Austria — Apr 2017 – Mar 2018