Bangalore, India 

Professor Vasanthapuram Ravi

Principal Investigator and Senior Professor of Neurovirology at National Institute for Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) 

Dr Ravi established the Neurovirology Department at NIMHANS, and has served as the Institute’s Registrar. He has extensive research and clinical experience in the diagnosis, treatment and public health aspects of viral neurological infections. He has collaborated with the University of Liverpool for over 15 years, currently as Co-Director of the dual NIMHANS-Liverpool PhD programme and sits on various national and international virology committees.

Professor Anita Desai

Co-Principal Investigator and Professor & Head of Neurovirology at NIMHANS

Dr Desai's research interests include pathogenesis and immune response of viral CNS infections, and molecular mechanisms of viral interaction with host and vector. She is in charge of seven national HIV diagnostics programmes, a technical expert on national and international committees, and a WHO-SEARO consultant for laboratory capacity building and quality and operational management strengthening

Professor Kasi Sekar

Co-Investigator and Professor of Psychiatric Social Work at NIMHANS

Prof Sekar is the current Registrar of NIMHANS, a clinically and research-active Professor of Psychiatric Social Work, and a past President of the Indian Society of Professional Social Work. He is engaged in research, training and delivery of emergency post-disaster psychosocial support and community mental health care.

Professor Santosh Kumar Chaturvedi 

Co-Investigator and Head of Mental Health Education at NIMHANS

Prof Chaturvedi's area of expertise is in psychiatry related to medical disorders [Consultation Liaison Psychiatry], comorbidities, psycho-oncology and palliative care. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh and of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Professor Gopalkrishna Gururaj

Co-Investigator and Dean of Neuro Sciences at NIMHANS

Prof Gururaj is a trained Epidemiologist and Public Health Specialist with expertise in health systems, health management and information systems, with a focus on prevention and care in mental health, non-communicable diseases and injuries, with experience in India and Low and Middle Income Countries.

Dr B S Pradeep

Co-Investigator and Additional Professor of Epidemiology at NIMHANS

Dr Pradeep is trained in Community Medicine and Epidemiology, having acquired experience in the USA via a Fogarty Fellowship with the National Institutes of Health, and in India. His areas of interest include HIV and other communicable disease, youth mental health interventions and substance use care, from the perspectives of public and community health.

Dr Vijaya Kumar

Site Investigator & District Health Officer at Kolar District Health Office of Karnataka

Dr Kumar is a public health specialist, monitoring health services in his capacity as District Health Officer and Family Welfare Officer. He is also responsible for supervising all national disease programmes, and public health issues, in the district of Kolar.

Dr M Netravathi

Site Investigator and Additional Professor of Neurology at NIMHANS

Dr Netravathi is an additional professor in Neurology at NIMHANS. Her areas of specialist interest include central nervous system demyelinating disorders, neuro-infections, and paediatric movement disorders.

Dr Chitra Pattabiraman

 

Co-Investigator and Early Career Fellow at NIMHANS

Dr Pattabiraman uses next-generation sequencing (Nanopore and Illumina) to identify pathogens in acute encephalitis syndrome. She also uses cell culture models to address how these pathogens cross the blood brain barrier.

Vellore, India

Professor Priscilla Rupali

Principal Investigator & Professor & Head of Infectious Diseases at the Christian Medical College (CMC)

Dr Rupali's main areas of interest include Transplant Infectious Diseases, Antimicrobial Stewardship and postgraduate training. She is the coordinator of the highly acclaimed Annual International Short Course in Tropical Medicine, and founder of the Transplant Infectious Diseases Conference in India.

Dr Asha Mary Abraham

Co-Principal Investigator & Professor of Clinical Virology at CMC

My areas of research interest include viral diagnosis, surveillance and antiviral susceptibility, with current grants focusing on dengue and other neurotropic viruses. I teach widely, and have extensive clinical and research experience in Virology in India.

Professor Paul Abhilash

Site Investigator and Professor & Head of Emergency Medicine at CMC

Prof Abhilash is Professor of Medicine and in charge of the Emergency Department of CMC, Vellore. Hismain areas of interest are acute medicine, acute infectious diseases and trauma research. He has designed and completed about 60 research projects.

Professor Valsan Verghese

Site Investigator and Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases at CMC

Prof Verghese trained in Paediatrics (DCH; MD) at CMC, and has undertaken a Fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Alberta, Canada. ​His areas of interest include vaccine-preventable invasive bacterial infections including Hib and pneumococcal meningitis, antimicrobial resistance, and TB and HIV.

Dr Dimple Jamkhandi

Site Investigator and Associate Professor in Community Health & Development at CMC

Dr Jamkhandi is a Family Physician working in a base hospital of Community Health fulfilling comprehensive primary care needs, with special interest in non-communicable disease, infectious diseases, & Women and Child Health in terms of preventive, curative and rehabilitative aspects.

Dr Divya Mathew

Site Investigator and Associate Professor in Medicine at CMC Chittoor Hospital

Dr Mathew has completed postgraduate training in Internal Medicine, with an interest in Emergency Medicine. She is currently in charge of medical outpatient services at CMC Chittoor Hospital, a small district hospital in Andhra Pradesh, around 30km from the main CMC campus.

Dr Sharon Jose

Site Investigator and Microbiologist Consultant at Scudder Memorial Hospital, Ranipet

Dr Jose is a dedicated Family Physician and Microbiologist actively participating in Antibiotic Stewardship and Hospital Infection Control, aspiring to become an Infectious Diseases physician.