Affiliation: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), Div. of Bacterial Diseases, Dept of Enteric Infections

Malabi M. Venkatesan obtained her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Pittsburgh, PA. After a few post-doctoral years at the NIH, Bethesda, MD, she joined WRAIR in Oct 1986 and retired in Sep 2020 as the Dept of Enteric Infections (DEI) Chief. Initially, Dr. Venkatesan’s group identified and characterized the Shigella Ipa antigens comprising the major protein antigens in infected sera and the spa genes that formed part of the type III secretion system in Shigella. Dr. Venkatesan also described the usefulness of the multicopy Shigella ipaH gene as a diagnostic tool in PCR reactions. She then became the team leader of the live, attenuated Shigella vaccine group. Her responsibilities included designing, developing, manufacturing, and testing a quadrivalent live Shigella vaccine candidate. These would protect deployed soldiers and children in developing countries against the most common Shigella serotypes causing bacillary dysentery.