Bhavna Chohan, MSc, PhD

Clinical Assistant Professor, Global Health

Senior Research Scientist, KEMRI, Nairobi, Kenya

Dr. Bhavna Chohan, MSc, PhD, received her Ph.D. (Virology) from University of Washington and MSc (Applied Molecular Biology of Infectious Diseases) from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. She has been actively involved with HIV/STI research since 1993, serving as Research Laboratory Manager for collaborative research projects with Universities of Washington and Nairobi in Mombasa, Kenya. After her graduate studies from the University of Washington under the mentorship of Dr. Julie Overbaugh, she returned to Nairobi, Kenya in 2007, where she helped establish a molecular virology research laboratory. Her broad goals are to establish and implement quality research on HIV transmission studies to improve health outcomes in Kenya and build a resource of well-trained and qualified scientists in the country.

Currently, Dr.Chohan serves as the Laboratory Director for the Universities of Nairobi/Washington collaborative research studies in Nairobi and also conducts funded research studies as the lead investigator for the NIH as well as local (Kenya) funded studies. She holds the position of Senior Research Scientist position at Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and visiting scientist at the University of Nairobi. She provides lectures and mentors students and junior scientists at KEMRI. Her research interests have been focused on HIV transmission and drug resistance studies.

1. MacLean, F, Zemek, RM, Tsegaye, AT, Graham, JB, Swarts, JL, Vick, SC et al.. Genital herpes shedding episodes associate with alterations in the spatial organization and activation of mucosal immune cells. bioRxiv. 2025; :. doi: 10.1101/2025.06.24.661157. PubMed PMID:40667113 PubMed Central PMC12262732.
2. Shakil, SS, Korir, S, Omondi, G, Ale, BM, Gitura, B, Morris, M et al.. Early structural cardiovascular disease, HIV, and tuberculosis in East Africa (ASANTE): cross-sectional study protocol for a multimodal cardiac imaging study in Nairobi, Kenya. BMJ Open. 2025;15 (7):e102684. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-102684. PubMed PMID:40645628 PubMed Central PMC12248218.
3. Žuštra, A, Leonard, VR, Holland, LA, Hu, JC, Mu, T, Holland, SC et al.. Longitudinal dynamics of the nasopharyngeal microbiome in response to SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and HIV infection in Kenyan women and their children. mSystems. 2025;10 (5):e0156824. doi: 10.1128/msystems.01568-24. PubMed PMID:40261064 PubMed Central PMC12090742.
4. Shakil, SS, Korir, S, Omondi, G, Ale, BM, Gitura, B, Tofeles, MM et al.. Early Structural Cardiovascular Disease, HIV, and Tuberculosis in East Africa (ASANTE): Cross-sectional study protocol for a multimodal cardiac imaging study in Nairobi, Kenya. medRxiv. 2025; :. doi: 10.1101/2025.03.16.25323832. PubMed PMID:40166534 PubMed Central PMC11957073.
5. MacLean, F, Tsegaye, AT, Graham, JB, Swarts, JL, Vick, SC, Potchen, NB et al.. Bacterial vaginosis associates with dysfunctional T cells and altered soluble immune factors in the cervicovaginal tract. J Clin Invest. 2025;135 (10):. doi: 10.1172/JCI184609. PubMed PMID:40131862 PubMed Central PMC12077898.