Riti Sharan, Ph.D.

Riti Sharan, Ph.D., is an immunologist who studies HIV, latent tuberculosis and potential treatments.

Dr. Sharan seeks to clarify the precise mechanisms of how HIV reactivates latent tuberculosis (TB) and how this causes both diseases to get worse, even when patients are on antiretroviral therapy against HIV. Her long-term goal is to explore an intervention targeting the immune system to control chronic immune activation and reduce latent TB reactivation. This work relies on a macaque model of TB and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), the nonhuman primate equivalent of HIV.

HIV and TB act synergistically to magnify the burden of disease with deadly consequences worldwide. People living with HIV are at a high risk of reactivating latent TB infection. The problem has worsened due to the emergence of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in people living with HIV, leading to significantly higher mortality rates. Chronic immune activation is a key player in the unfolding immune cascade in HIV/TB co-infection that warrants a closer and deeper look.

Dr. Sharan enjoys extending her duties beyond lab work to student outreach, mentoring trainees, representing Texas Biomed at public platforms, and being an active member of Institute committees.