Postdoctoral Fellow

Bennie—an unapologetically Nigerian-American scientist with a knack for exploration! She holds a PhD in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of South Carolina. When she’s not decoding the secrets of science, you’ll find her on some wild adventures—volunteering at the GA Aquarium, spinning around the dance floor with American ballroom moves, and whipping up culinary storms. But her true passion lies in exploring the globe and plunging into the mesmerizing world beneath the waves. Manta rays are her spirit buddies.

Currently, she’s rocking it as a postdoc, digging into how a combo treatment of AZD5582 (SMACm) and ABT-199 (venetoclax) could shake up the game in clearing pesky SIV reservoirs and slowing viral rebound in rhesus macaques.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Venkata graduated from Texas A&M University Kingsville with an MS in chemistry and then received his PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, TX. As a graduate student, he studied the consequences of HIV-1 integration in human astrocytes and how LTR activity impacts the functional responses of HIV-infected astrocytes. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, long walks with his dog, Rakhi, and practicing photography.

Venkata’s current work focuses on identifying cellular and anatomical sources of on-ART viremia during SIV latency reversal in adult rhesus macaques.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Jairo received his MD from the National University of Colombia and completed his residency in pediatrics at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine. He is currently undergoing subspecialty fellowship training in pediatric infectious diseases at Emory University and is a postdoctoral fellow in the Chahroudi lab. His main research interests are the understanding of the mechanisms of HIV latency formation in children and the role of immune system ontogenesis in HIV reservoirs. Jairo is also interested in the development of immunotherapeutics as latency reversal agents. Jairo received the prestigious Pediatric Scientist Development Program K12 Award and is recognized as an NIH Office of AIDS Scholar.

Previous Graduate Student

Vidisha was a PhD Student in the Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis Program with a background in public health and vaccine epidemiology. Vidisha’s dissertation research was focused on the reservoir reducing capacity of using CD8+ T cell depletion + N-803 with SIV-specific monoclonal antibodies. During COVID, Vidisha conducted research on antiviral T cell responses in children with SARS-CoV-2 and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).

PhD Candidate

Tehillah is a PhD candidate in the Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis Program co-mentored by Dr. Chahroudi and Dr. Susan Ribeiro. She is interested in understanding host-pathogen interactions that direct HIV persistence in childhood. Based on a retrospective cohort of SIV-infected infant rhesus macaques, she is currently studying how the metabolome and immune responses impact reservoir size and viral rebound.

Research Specialist

Kedan is a Research Specialist who provides support in ongoing adult and infant SIV studies. She completed her master’s in medical science at Georgia State University. Outside of work, she enjoys reading.

Undergraduate Student

Soma is an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Chahroudi lab. She is lmajoring in Human Health and minoring in Women's, Gender, Sexuality at Emory University, with plans to pursue a medical career in Gynecology or Pediatrics after graduation. In her free time, Soma likes to go thrifting, going on runs with her dogs, and going to concerts!

Lab Manager

Patrick is the Chahroudi Lab Manager. He graduated from Arizona State University with his BSc in Microbiology and later received his MSc in Microbiology and Immunology from University of Louisville.
Aside from his scientific interest in understanding host interactions with infectious disease, he keeps the pulse on the Atlanta metro dining scene so both family and co-workers eat well.