Education:
PhD, University of Minnesota, 2000
MVSc, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, 1995
BVSc & AH (DVM) College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, 1992

Research areas:

The Cheeran laboratory has three focus areas of research:

1. Neuroimmunology of brain disease: The primary research focus of his laboratory is to elucidate mechanisms by which innate and adaptive immune responses alter the neurological outcomes of brain disease. Using well-characterized in vitro and animal models of herpes virus brain infection and traumatic brain injury, his laboratory investigates how macrophages and T lymphocytes alter disease processes in the brain that impact neurological outcomes. The ultimate goal is to identify novel points of intervention that can be manipulated to mitigate or inhibit the adverse outcomes ensuing brain infection or injury. 
2. Immunology of infectious diseases in swine: This research program studies how the immune response to viruses in domesticated swine that are generated at mucosal surfaces not only provides protection to infection but also drives the emergence of novel viral strains through the acquisition of traits to escape host recognition. 
3. Infectious disease diagnostics for agriculture species. The laboratory generates and utilizes antibody-based reagents to develop novel pen-side (point-of-care) diagnostics for disease diagnosis and surveillance in agricultural settings.  This initiative is a collaborative effort with Professor JP Wang’s group at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the College of Science & Engineering.