Shelli Farhadian

Dr. Shelli Farhadian is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Yale School of Medicine and an Associate Professor of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at Yale School of Public Health. She is affiliated with multiple centers including the Center for Neuroepidemiology and Clinical Neurological Research, Brain Infections Center, and the Yale Center for Asylum Medicine.

Dr. Farhadian completed her medical training at Weill Cornell Medical College and earned a PhD from The Rockefeller University. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Yale New Haven Hospital, followed by a fellowship in infectious diseases at Yale School of Medicine.

Her research focuses on the neurological complications of systemic infections, particularly HIV and COVID-19. She investigates how these infections affect the central nervous system, with special attention to HIV in older adults on suppressive antiretroviral therapy. Her work combines clinical care with laboratory research to understand the mechanisms of neuroinflammation and develop better treatments for patients with neurological infections.

Dr. Farhadian's recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on HIV neuropathogenesis, neurosyphilis, and the neurological consequences of emerging infections like COVID-19. Her work often employs advanced techniques such as single-cell sequencing to understand viral persistence in the central nervous system. She collaborates extensively with neurologists, immunologists, and public health researchers to address complex questions in neuro-infectious diseases.

• Iva Dostanic Physican-Scientist Award (2019)
• Patterson Trust Mentored Research Award (2018)
• Young Investigator Award from Connecticut Infectious Disease Society (2018)
• NIH K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (2018)
• Irene Diamond Postdoctoral Transition Award from American Federation for Aging Research (2018)

Dr. Farhadian serves as a Sub Investigator for the "HIV & Health Study (HARC Plus)" clinical trial and is involved in the IMPACT: COVID-19 Biorepository at Yale. She is a founding member of the Yale Center for Asylum Medicine, demonstrating her commitment to public service and global health. Her research is supported by multiple grants including the NIH K23 award.

Based at Yale's Center for Neuroepidemiology and Clinical Neurological Research, Dr. Farhadian works closely with the Brain Infections Center and collaborates with researchers across multiple disciplines to investigate neurological infections. Her laboratory work focuses on analyzing cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples from patients with HIV, neurosyphilis, and other neurological infections to identify biomarkers and understand disease mechanisms.