Email

ramani@bcm.edu

Positions

Associate Professor

Molecular Virology and Microbiology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US

Addresses

BCM (Lab)

Room: BCMA-939E
Houston, TX 77030
United States
Phone: (713) 798-3010

Professional Interests

• Viral gastroenteritis, immune response to infection and to vaccines, microbiome, glycans in infectious diseases

Professional Statement

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology. My research program involves multidisciplinary studies on enteric infections and vaccines with a focus on rotavirus and norovirus, the two leading causes of viral gastroenteritis worldwide. My primary goals are to understand host factors that contribute to disease, and to identify mechanisms to improve responses to enteric infectious agents and vaccines so that we can address fundamentally important questions of population relevance on host-virus/vaccine interactions. Broadly, my research program can be categorized into 3 major areas: 1) rotavirus vaccine research that focuses on the underperformance of live, attenuated rotavirus vaccines in low- and middle-income countries; 2) norovirus research with the goals of understanding the mechanisms of gastroenteritis, virus evolution and host responses; and 3) advancing infant organoid models for gastrointestinal diseases and vaccines. The studies involve a combination of population studies and laboratory assays using organoids and thus take a complete bench-to-bedside approach to clinically important infectious diseases. I am committed to the promotion of health care, particularly in resource-poor regions, through research on infectious diseases. In the long term, my goal is to develop and stimulate new research on the role of glycans and microbiome in infectious diseases and identify interventions with translational potential to improve human health.

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