My Expertise
Human immunodeficiency virus, ageing with chronic viral infections, inflammation, comorbidities, covid-19 illness and outcomes, immunocompromised host.
Keywords
Fields of Research (FoR)
Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology, Public Health and Health ServicesBiography
Nila Dharan is an Infectious Diseases physician with a research focus on international infectious diseases and public health. She completed her medical training in Internal Medicine and specialist training in Infectious Diseases in the United States and completed a research fellowship with the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has clinical and public health research experience in the areas of...view more
Nila Dharan is an Infectious Diseases physician with a research focus on international infectious diseases and public health. She completed her medical training in Internal Medicine and specialist training in Infectious Diseases in the United States and completed a research fellowship with the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has clinical and public health research experience in the areas of HIV, influenza and tuberculosis.
In 2021, she completed a PhD in the area of HIV comorbidities and aging, aimed at understanding the spectrum of comorbidities among persons living with HIV in Australia, and understanding aging-related genetic changes in people with HIV. Her current research is focused on several areas including biological ageing and clinical comorbidities in people with HIV.
My Grants
- 2017: NHMRC post graduate scholarship (CIA; $104,000). Evaluating the burden and aetiology of medical comorbidities among people with HIV in Australia: towards the optimal management of the ageing HIV population.
- 2019-2020: Department of Health and Ageing (Led application, awarded to Kirby Institute; $110,000). Evaluating and comparing the effects of aging on quality of life among older adults with and without HIV.
- 2020: Gilead Fellowship Australia (CIA; $60,000). Evaluating and comparing aging and quality of life among older adults with and without HIV: a substudy of the ARCHIVE prospective cohort
- 2020-2021: Department of Health and Ageing (Led application, awarded to Kirby Institute; $60,000). Evaluating and comparing aging and quality of life among older adults with and without HIV: a substudy of the ARCHIVE prospective cohort.
- 2023-2027: NHMRC Investigator Grant (CIA; $655,150). Understanding the impact of chronic viral infections on biological ageing processes and associated clinical outcomes.
- 2023-2027: Medical Research Future Fund – International Clinical Trials Collaboration (CIB; $1,993,166.40). Strategies and Treatments for Respiratory Infections and Viral Emergencies (STRIVE).
- 2023-2027: Medical Research Future Fund – Clinical Trials Activity (CIL; $2,971,763.69. Modulation of stem cell differentiation in individuals with high-risk clonal haematopoiesis - the MOSAIC trial.
- 2023-2027: NHMRC Clinical Trials and Cohorts (CIG; $1,032510). Improving the long-term health in people living with HIV: the RESPOND study.
- 2024: Royal Australasian College of Physicians Sir Roy McCaughey Research Establishment Fellowship (CIA; $75,000). Microbial translocation and the risk of clonal haematopoiesis in chronic HIV infection.
- 2025: University of New South Wales Cardiovascular and Vascular Medicine Theme Seed Grant (Co-PI; $30,000). OPTIMAR-Heart Study: Assessing the impact of SGLT2 inhibitors on epicardial adipose tissue in HIV positive patients on integrase-based anti-retroviral therapies.
- 2026-2028 MRFF Early to Mid-Career Researchers (CIA; $979,355.60). From gut to brain: the impact of gut health and clonal haematopoiesis on neurocognitive decline and frailty in ageing people living with HIV
My Qualifications
MD FRACP PhD
My Awards
2003: Hubert International Research Fellowship, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA
2008: Joint Program Committee Award in the area of Epidemiology of Infection for abstract "Oseltamivir-resistant influenza A(H1N1) in the United States, 2007-2008", presented at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
2010: Special Citation for Fellows-in-Training for abstract "Child and household risk factors for hospitalization with laboratory-confirmed influenza among children aged 6-59 months - United States 2005-2008", presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
2019: Kirby Institute (University of New South Wales) Emerging Investigator Award
2021: University of New South Wales 2021 Medicine and Health Early Career Academic Network Best Research Paper Award for Clinical Medicine and Science
2022: Kirby Institute Postgraduate Student Prize
2025: Australasian Society for HIV and Sexual Health Medicine Early Career Award for Oral Presentation. Category: Discovery and Translational Science
My Research Activities
My research is focused on understanding the burden and pathophysiology of comorbidities and biological ageing processes in people with HIV.
My Research Supervision
Supervision keywords
Areas of supervision
We have a PhD opportunity at the Kirby Institute, UNSW, in the area of ageing and comorbidities in people with HIV. While people with HIV are living longer, due to effective and well-tolerated HIV treatment, there is still a much higher burden of ageing-related comorbidities in people with HIV compared to people without HIV. The reasons for this is multifactorial, but the chronic inflammation associated with long-term HIV infection is a major driver. This body of work seeks to connect inflammation-related biological drivers of ageing and measurable clinical outcomes of significant morbidity and mortality. The range of projects available include translational studies in an established cohort of older adults with and without HIV, evaluating biomarkers and outcomes in a clinical trial, and analysing data measuring gaps in care for women with HIV. Encompassing the fields of infectious diseases, immunology, gastroenterology, neurology and geriatrics, this program of work is truly representative of the multidisciplinary approach needed to optimise the care of ageing people with HIV.
There is a broad range of projects available including translational studies, analysis of data from randomised clinical trials, and epidemiologic data analysis of large datasets; the range of projects in the potential scope of the PhD include:
• Evaluating the impact of gut health and ageing biomarkers on neurocognitive decline and frailty
• Measuring ageing biomarkers and metabolomics in people in a randomised clinical trial evaluating a cardiometabolic agent.
• Analysing data collected in a cohort of women with HIV in Australia, an understudied population.
• Analysis of large datasets from national and international cohorts of people with HIV (e.g. the international RESPOND network)
Desired background: additional stipend above university scholarships are available for highly qualified applicants. A background in clinical training and experience with data analysis are preferred, though not required.
Contact: Nila Dharan ndharan@kirby.unsw.edu.au
Supervisor information: https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/nila-dharan; https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/kathy-petoumenos; https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/win-min-han
Currently supervising
One PhD student as secondary supervisor
One honours student as co-primary supervisor.
One year 4 medical student (Research Project, Notre Dame) as primary supervisor.
My Engagement
International
2019-2021: Endpoint Review Committee Charter (ERC Charter) for A Prospective Observational Cohort Study on HIV Infection and Risk Related Coinfections/Comorbidities in Indonesia (INA-PROACTIVE)
2023-present: HIV and Aging Working Group, AIDS Clinical Trials Group
2023-present: Biomarker and Ageing Working Group, RESPOND Network
2026-present: NeuroHIV Aging and Advocacy Group
National
2009-2010: Combination Influenza Antiviral Therapy Focus Group, National Institutes of Health
2022-2024: Advocacy and Policy Committee, Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases
2025-present: HIV Clinical Track Committee, Australian HIV&AIDS Conference, Australian Society for HIV Medicine
Institutional
2013-2016: Institutional Biosafety Committee, New Jersey Medical School
2014-2016: Department of Medicine Research Advisory Committee, New Jersey Medical School
2019-2020: Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee, St. Vincent’s Hospital Sydney
2019-2020: HIV Clinical Trials Committee, St. Vincent’s Hospital Sydney
2019-2020: Clinical Research Committee, St. Vincent’s Hospital Sydney
2020-2021: Post-graduate Student Representative, Strategic Advisory Committee, Kirby Institute, UNSW – Sydney
2022-2024: Co-Chair (2024) and Communications lead (2023), UNSW Medicine and Health Early Career Academic Network Committee
2021-2025: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee, Kirby Institute, UNSW – Sydney
2021-present: Global Health Committee, Kirby Institute, UNSW – Sydney
2022-present: Clinical Trials Research Advisory Committee, Kirby Institute, UNSW – Sydney
2023-present: Infectious Diseases Research Lead, Institute for Academic Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
2025-present: Member, Ageing Futures Institute, UNSW – Sydney
2026-present: Member, Women in Research Network
2026-present: Organising Committee Member, Triple I EMCR Symposium
Professional Society Memberships
2011-2018: Infectious Diseases Society of America
2012-2015: International AIDS Society
2015-2018: American Society of Microbiology
2017-present: Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine
2020-present: Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases
Media
2014: “Hot Topic: A Potentially Deadly Virus Comes to the U.S.” in Rutgers Today, May 23, 2014. https://www.newswise.com/articles/hot-topic-a-potentially-deadly-virus-comes-to-the-u-s
2014: "Flu vaccine may not protect against dangerous strain of virus" in NJ Advance Media/NJ.com (interviewed by Star Ledger), December 4, 2014. http://www.nj.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2014/12/mismatch_between_flu_virus_and_vaccine.html
2014: Featured in “Researchers discuss influenza vaccine” in The Daily Targum, December 7, 2014. http://www.dailytargum.com/article/2014/12/researchers-discuss-influenza-vaccine
2014: Featured in “Spreading more than cheer: Holiday fliers 100 times more likely to catch germs on a plane” in the NJ Advance Media/NJ.com (interviewed by Star Ledger), December 22, 2014. http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2014/12/spreading_more_than_cheer_holiday_fliers_100_times_more_likely_to_catch_germs_on_a_plane.html#incart_rive
2021: Featured in “Older people with HIV are twice as likely to develop ageing-related genetic changes” in Aged Care Insite, July 22, 2021. https://www.agedcareinsite.com.au/2021/07/older-people-with-hiv-are-twice-as-likely-to-develop-ageing-related-genetic-changes/
2022: Contributor to “For patients taking PrEP, poor adherence drives HIV seroconversions” in Physician’s Weekly, October 3, 2022. Available at: https://www.physiciansweekly.com/for-patients-taking-prep-poor-adherence-drives-hiv-seroconversions.
2022: Featured in “HIV seroconversions tied to poor PrEP adherence” in Healio, November 3, 2022. Available at: https://www.healio.com/news/infectious-disease/20221103/hiv-seroconversions-tied-to-poor-prep-adherence.
2022: Featured speaker on podcast for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infectious Diseases series titled “Outbreak of Nocardia Infections in Heart Transplant Recipients and Association with Climate Conditions, Australia”, December 8, 2022. Available at: https://tools.cdc.gov/medialibrary/index.aspx#/media/id/733013.
Location
Publications
ORCID as entered in ROS
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1175-5962