Ashwin Ramesh Email & Phone Number

I have over 15 years of research experience where I have conducted both lab-based as well as field-based work.As a Post Doctoral researcher, I am currently studying the effect of antigenic distance on repeated influenza vaccines on the development of humoral immune responses (CD4 T cell - B cell interactions) with the aim to accurately determine the effects of annual vaccination regimes on our Memory B cell populations.For my Ph.D., I studied the efficacy of novel enteric vaccines against rotavirus and norovirus in gnotobiotic pigs. Both vaccines were highly effective and generated a strong immune response when challenged with virulent viruses. New Drug Applications (NDAs) were submitted to the US FDA to proceed with clinical trials for both these vaccines tested.My Masters research project involved the use of various entomological tools to identify the preferential breeding sites of Culicoides midges responsible for the spread of Bluetongue Virus in of South India particularly focusing on subsistence farming land. I was responsible for organizing and implementing the field study along with the delegation of responsibilities among field-based staff, in order to achieve the proposed objectives within a dynamic setting under a strict time frame.My undergraduate research was primarily focused on the production and purification of large quantities of Fabs specific to Plasmodium berghei by aerobic fermentation. I routinely carried out SDS/PAGE for the identification of purified proteins followed by Western Blot in order to confirm the specific binding capacity of Fabs to the antigen.