Professor Mahesh Mohan, Ph.D. and Professor Deepak Kaushal, Ph.D., Director of the SNPRC

The newest professor at our biomedical research institute is Dr. Mahesh Mohan. His research is focused on HIV…the virus that causes AIDS. However, he’s been branching out into a new area recently: the effect of cannabinoids on the inflammation caused by this disease…and potentially other illnesses as well.

Dr. Mohan will also be a member of the Southwest National Primate Research Center on the Texas Biomed campus. He came from the Tulane National Primate Research Center in Louisiana where he worked with rhesus macaques. These animals are a good model for his research, as they can be infected with the monkey version of HIV.

Could components of the marijuana plant help patients with the many and varied symptoms created by an HIV infection? That’s one project Dr. Mohan has taken on. He would also like to find out if creating a synthetic compound could help create a new medication.