Rate My Professor Mahesh Mohan

Mahesh Mohan, D.V.M., M.S., Ph.D., serves as Professor and Program Lead for Disease Intervention and Prevention at Texas Biomedical Research Institute. He is also a faculty member in the Host-Pathogen Interaction program within the Southwest National Primate Research Center. His academic training includes a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Master of Science, and Ph.D. in Reproductive Biotechnology from Oklahoma State University. Prior to joining Texas Biomedical Research Institute in September 2019, Mohan held positions at Tulane National Primate Research Center, including Assistant Professor from January 2011 to June 2016 and Associate Professor from July 2010 to August 2019 in Comparative Pathology. His broad expertise spans veterinary medicine, pathology, molecular biology, and nonhuman primate immunology.

Mohan's research investigates epigenetic mechanisms, particularly microRNAs, long noncoding RNAs, and DNA methylation, underlying the molecular pathogenesis of HIV/SIV infection and associated comorbidities such as gastrointestinal dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and cardiovascular disease. He explores chronic inflammation and immune activation in people living with HIV despite antiretroviral therapy, as well as the combinatorial effects of antiretroviral therapy and low-dose phyto-cannabinoids like delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol on T cells, macrophages, microbiome dynamics, metabolome, and neuroinflammation. Additional studies examine non-invasive delivery of long-acting antiretroviral drugs and gene therapy vectors to the brain, cannabinoid effects on tuberculosis/HIV coinfection and Alzheimer’s disease models using rhesus macaques and aged baboons, anti-fibrotic properties of cannabinoids, proinflammatory pathways, extracellular vesicles, and cocaine impacts on viral replication and dysbiosis in SIV-infected models. His laboratory is supported by multiple National Institutes of Health grants, including two R01 grants and an R21/R33 grant totaling over $6 million. Key publications include 'Cannabinoid enhancement of lncRNA MMP25-AS1/MMP25 interaction reduces neutrophil infiltration and intestinal epithelial injury in HIV/SIV infection' (2023), 'Aid or Antagonize: Nuclear Long Noncoding RNAs Regulate Host Responses and Outcomes of Viral Infections' (2023), 'Therapeutic Potential of Cannabis: A Comprehensive Review of Current and Future Applications' (2023), 'Epigenetic modulation of the NLRP6 inflammasome sensor as a therapeutic modality to reduce necroptosis-driven gastrointestinal mucosal dysfunction in HIV/SIV infection' (2025), and 'Extracellular condensates (ECs) are endogenous modulators of HIV transcription and latency reactivation' (2025). Mohan's work utilizes SIV-infected nonhuman primate models for translational insights into HIV management.