Kaushic Lab
Research to Improve Women's Reproductive Health
Dr. Charu Kaushic
Dr. Charu Kaushic, PhD
Professor, Department of Medicine, McMaster University (MU)
Scientific Director, CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity
OHTN Applied HIV Research Chair
Member, McMaster Immunology Research Centre (MU)
Member, Michael DeGroote Institute of Infectious Disease Research (MU)
Associate Faculty, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, (MU)
Associate Faculty, Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, (MU)
Dr. Kaushic completed her Ph.D. at National Institute of Immunology in New Delhi, India in the area of reproductive immunology and then spent a few years at Dartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire with Dr. Chuck Wira, learning all about mucosal immunity of the reproductive tract.
Her research interest is women’s reproductive health, specifically basic research examining susceptibility and immune responses to sexually transmitted pathogens, particularly, HIV-1 and HSV-2. Dr. Kaushic’s lab has been funded by CIHR, CANFAR and OHTN. Her lab’s research is currently funded by a CIHR grant focused on examining interactions between HIV-1 and HSV-2 in the female genital tract.
Dr. Kaushic has been a recipient of a number of awards, including a post-doctoral fellowship from The Rockefeller Foundation (1993-95), an OHTN Scholarship (2002-2007) and a CIHR New Investigator Award (2007-2012). She has hold an Applied HIV Research Chair Award from Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN) (2012-2017). She has served on several NIH and CIHR grant review panels and is frequently invited to give talks at national and international meetings. She has also served on the Executive Council of American Society of Reproductive Immunology (2007-2014) and a researcher representative on the OHTN Board (2012-2016).
Dr. Kaushic is closely involved with a number of women’s health agencies where she gives consultations, and has also participated at the Provincial Level sitting on agencies which focus on women’s reproductive health, HIV, and other related issues. She has special interest in public education, especially on women’s reproductive health issues and has worked closely and collaborated with community research organizations, such as Women’s Health in Women’s Hands in Toronto. She has given public and community talks on a number of HIV and women’s health related topics.
Outside of the lab, Dr. Kaushic likes to spend time with her family. She has two sons and when she and her husband are not busy, they like to travel and see new places and experience different cultures. They also like camping, hiking, canoeing and throwing BBQ and pool parties at their house!
