Dr. Neeraj Dhar is a microbiologist and Principal Scientist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), University of Saskatchewan, where he leads the Laboratory of Infection Biology and Imaging. His research focuses on understanding how Mycobacterium tuberculosis survives and persists in the host, with the goal of developing more effective treatments and vaccines.
Dr. Dhar’s research program combines microbiology, functional genomics, single-cell imaging, microfluidics and advanced 3D human tissue and organoid models to investigate TB persistence, host-pathogen interactions, antibiotic tolerance, and phenotypic heterogeneity. In collaboration with researchers across the field, the team is also exploring new therapeutic strategies that could shorten TB treatment and improve patient outcomes.
Before joining VIDO in 2021, Dr. Dhar conducted postdoctoral research at The Rockefeller University in New York and spent more than a decade at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. He received his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Delhi and has received several research fellowships and awards, including the SwissTB Prize for his contributions to TB research.
Current Projects:
- Strategies for targeting persister cells to shorten Tuberculosis treatment
- Investigating the role of mycobacterial phenotypic heterogeneity in Tuberculosis pathogenesis
- Screening of chemical libraries for novel antibacterial compounds
- Engineering 3D organoid and organ-chip models for infectious disease research
- Advanced 3D Bioprinting of functional lung tissue models
- Understanding the dynamic interplay between tuberculosis and its host to reduce transmission