Vaithi Arumugaswami, D.V.M., Ph.D.

Arumugaswami has established a well-funded research program on the biology of Zika virus replication and neuroinflammation. Transmission of Zika by mosquitos leads to devastating developmental anomalies in newborns including microcephaly and congenital eye disease. Arumugaswami has developed cell culture systems — advanced human primary optic cup organoid systems and stem cell-derived neural progenitors and retinal stem cells — to investigate Zika-mediated activation of the Hippo signaling pathway, which is involved in organogenesis and inflammation. He has defined the role of Hippo pathway factors in host antiviral response. Additionally, his efforts to develop an effective Zika vaccine candidate laid the foundation to utilize this technology for founding his biotechnology start-up, Veergen, Inc.

Arumugaswami is one of the foremost investigators who commenced SARS-CoV-2 research in January 2020, before global spread of the virus. By March 2020, he had successfully completed a drug screen against the virus and identified important antiviral compounds, which yielded multiple patents. As the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, he has broadened his research focus to include multiple families of pandemic-potential RNA viruses. These efforts have led to identification of broad-spectrum antiviral agents that can be deployed in the event of a future pandemic.