Srividhya Swaminathan, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Pediatrics
School of Medicine

Dr. Swaminathan is an aspiring immunologist dedicated to bridging the gap between fundamental research and clinical application. She currently serves as a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California, San Francisco, where she joined the Prahl Lab in 2024. Her postdoctoral work is centered on pioneering new analytical methods to dissect the complexities of the pediatric immune system.

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By investigating immune responses to key childhood vaccines like those for COVID-19 and RSV, she aims to provide critical insights that will inform the development of next-generation vaccines for the world's youngest and most vulnerable populations.

Dr. Swaminathan’s expertise is built on a foundation of high-impact doctoral research. While earning her PhD in Immunology from The University of Queensland at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, she contributed to a project that culminated in a remarkable achievement: the design and preclinical validation of an allogeneic T-cell therapy for treating severe SARS-CoV-2 infections in immunocompromised individuals.

With a unique background that spans academic research and industry standards, including experience in GLP and GMP-compliant environments, Dr. Swaminathan possesses a robust technical skillset in T cell therapy development, flow cytometry, and virology. Her work is driven by a commitment to leveraging the power of immunology to create tangible solutions for global health challenges.

Education & Training

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• Ph.D Immunology The University of Queensland 2024
• M.Tech Biotechnology Vellore Institute of Technology 2018
• B.Tech Biotechnology SASTRA University 2016

Interests

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• Infectious diseases
• Immunology
• Virology
• Vaccines
• Maternal-Fetal Health
• T cells
• Immunotherapy

Websites

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• Prahl Lab (prahllab.ucsf.edu)

Publications (8)

Top publication keywords:
Sequence AlignmentHLA AntigensEpitopes, T-LymphocyteAmino Acid SequenceCD8-Positive T-LymphocytesAntibodies, NeutralizingSpike Glycoprotein, CoronavirusAntibodies, ViralEpitope MappingCoronavirus InfectionsCross ReactionsImmunotherapy, AdoptiveImmunodominant EpitopesConserved SequenceCoronavirus

• Allogeneic 'off-the-shelf' SARS-CoV-2-specific adoptive T-cell therapy for refractory viral infection and end organ disease.
  Clinical & translational immunology 2025 Henden AS, Lineburg KE, Panikkar A, Mahajan A, Nelles R, Wright E, Crooks P, Raju J, Le Texier L, Swaminathan S, Beagley L, Best S, Solomon M, Reddiex H, Kennedy G, Tey SK, Neller MA, Khanna R, Smith …
• Breakthrough SARS-COV-2 infection induces broad anti-viral T cell immunity.
  iScience 2023 Lineburg KE, Crooks P, Raju J, Le Texier L, Khaledi P, Berry K, Swaminathan S, Panikkar A, Rehan S, Guppy-Coles K, Neller MA, Khanna R, Smith C
• Ablation of CD8+ T cell recognition of an immunodominant epitope in SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3.
  Nature communications 2022 Swaminathan S, Lineburg KE, Panikkar A, Raju J, Murdolo LD, Szeto C, Crooks P, Le Texier L, Rehan S, Dewar-Oldis MJ, Barnard PJ, Ambalathingal GR, Neller MA, Short KR, Gras S, Khanna R, Smith C
• Limited Recognition of Highly Conserved Regions of SARS-CoV-2.
  Microbiology spectrum 2022 Swaminathan S, Lineburg KE, Ambalathingal GR, Crooks P, Grant EJ, Mohan SV, Raju J, Panikkar A, Le Texier L, Tong ZWM, Chew KY, Neller MA, Short KR, Gowda H, Gras S, Khanna R, Smith C
• SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells generated for adoptive immunotherapy are capable of recognizing multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants.
  PLoS pathogens 2022 Panikkar A, Lineburg KE, Raju J, Chew KY, Ambalathingal GR, Rehan S, Swaminathan S, Crooks P, Le Texier L, Beagley L, Best S, Solomon M, Matthews KK, Srihari S, Neller MA, Short KR, Khanna R, Smith C
• Rapid whole-blood assay to detect SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T-cell immunity following a single dose of AstraZeneca ChAdOx1-S COVID-19 vaccine.
  Clinical & translational immunology 2021 Lineburg KE, Neller MA, Ambalathingal GR, Le Texier L, Raju J, Swaminathan S, Lekieffre L, Smith C, Rehan S, Crooks P, Panikkar A, Srihari S, Khanna R, Smith C
• CD8+ T cells specific for an immunodominant SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid epitope cross-react with selective seasonal coronaviruses.
  Immunity 2021 Lineburg KE, Grant EJ, Swaminathan S, Chatzileontiadou DSM, Szeto C, Sloane H, Panikkar A, Raju J, Crooks P, Rehan S, Nguyen AT, Lekieffre L, Neller MA, Tong ZWM, Jayasinghe D, Chew KY, Lobos CA, …
• Rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T-cell immunity in recovered COVID-19 cases.
  Clinical & translational immunology 2020 Lineburg KE, Srihari S, Altaf M, Swaminathan S, Panikkar A, Raju J, Crooks P, Ambalathingal GR, Martins JP, Matthews KK, Neller MA, Khanna R, Smith C