As a 2025 Schmidt Science Fellow, Sonali seeks to understand how beneficial microbes shape the vaginal immune system, uncovering new approaches to improve reproductive, maternal, and infant health.
A third of women worldwide face disruptions in their vaginal microbiota, increasing the risk of infections and complications during pregnancy. Little is known about how these microbes regulate vaginal and neonatal health because we lack a system to study them.
Sonali aims to create a system for studying the human vaginal microbiota in mice to understand how beneficial microbes shape the vaginal immune system and to discover new ways to prevent and treat infections without relying on antibiotics.
Sonali will pivot from Neuroscience to Immunology