Dr. Chothe is a virologist with a robust background in respiratory viral diseases, viral diagnostics, and vaccine development. She earned her Bachelor of Veterinary and Animal Sciences degree from Pondicherry University, India, and a Master of Veterinary Science with a focus on Veterinary Microbiology from Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Punjab, India. Dr. Chothe completed her PhD in Pathobiology at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, in 2018. Her doctoral research focused on investigating virus-host interactions in influenza A virus infection in chicken and human cells.
During her PhD, Dr. Chothe received several prestigious awards, including the Professional Development Award and the Bosworth Grier Scholarship for outstanding performance, from Penn State, the Young Scientist Award from the European Scientific Working Group on Influenza (ESWI), and the First Annual Brenda Love Memorial Award from the American Society for Virology.
Dr. Chothe has over four years of postdoctoral experience at Penn State and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY. Her postdoctoral research has encompassed various aspects of diagnostics and vaccine development for infectious respiratory viral diseases in both animals and humans. At Penn State, her work focused on assessing the effectiveness of an innovative replication-defective bovine adenovirus (BAd3)-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in mice. Additionally, Dr. Chothe has investigated sialic acid receptors and ACE2 receptors in little brown bats that are compatible with binding various influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2, respectively, underscoring the potential role of little brown bats in harboring these viruses. Through training and experience, Dr. Chothe has gained expertise in working in BSL2 and BSL3 laboratory environments.
Dr. Chothe joined the faculty of the Infectious Diseases and Microbiology department at the University of Pittsburgh in 2023 as a Research Assistant Professor. As a member of the Kuchipudi research group, Dr. Chothe's primary research focuses on investigating the pathogenesis of influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2 in various animal and human hosts, developing novel mRNA vaccine targets, and developing diagnostic solutions for major respiratory viral pathogens.
Dr. Chothe’s research interests include:
- Investigating virus-host interactions in animal and human hosts
- Developing novel diagnostics for viral pathogens
- Viral vaccine design and efficacy evaluation
2018 | Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA | PhD
2012 | Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University | Master of Veterinary Science (MVSc)
2010 | Pondicherry University | Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry (BVSc & AH)
PUBHLT 0462 | Historic and Contemporary Societal Impacts of Infectious Diseases | Lecturer
Chothe, S. K., Bhushan, G., Nissly, R. H., Yeh, Y. T., Brown, J., Turner, G., ... & Kuchipudi, S. V. (2017). Avian and human influenza virus compatible sialic acid receptors in little brown bats. Scientific reports, 7(1), 660.
Nissly, R.H., Zaman, N., Ibrahim, P.A.S., McDaniel, K., Lim, L., Kiser, J.N., Bird, I., Chothe, S.K., Bhushan, G.L., Vandegrift, K. and Neibergs, H.L., 2020. Influenza C and D viral load in cattle correlates with bovine respiratory disease (BRD): Emerging role of orthomyxoviruses in the pathogenesis of BRD. Virology, 551, pp.10-15.
Chothe, S. K., Jakka, P., Boorla, V. S., Ramasamy, S., Gontu, A., Nissly, R. H., ... & Kuchipudi, S. V. (2023). Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus) Support the Binding of SARS-CoV-2 Spike and Are Likely Susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Viruses, 15(5), 1103.
