Members of the VIDE Group

About us

Our research group consists of scientists at all academic levels who work together towards developing the next-generation of rAAVs and other therapeutic platforms. Our researchers are diverse and hail from a range of training backgrounds.  Many of our research objectives are in collaboration with the Gao Lab and other prominent scientists in the Horae Gene Therapy Center and UMass Chan Medical School.

Phil Tai, PhD

Assistant Professor
phillip.tai2 at umassmed.edu

Phil graduated from UC Berkeley (BA, Molecular and Cellular Biology), and University of Washington (PhD, Biochemistry). His research focuses on the development of next-gen sequencing methodologies to profile AAV vector genome quality, and discovery and characterization of natural AAV capsid isolates for vectorization and gene therapy.

Tapan Sharma, PhD

Research Associate IV
Tapan.Sharma at umassmed.edu

Tapan hails from India where he received his Ph.D. from the School of Life Sciences at JNU, New Delhi. His past research was focused on understanding the role of SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling enzymes in cancer cell growth and skeletal muscle development. His current project involves designing AAV vectors that can be delivered to target tissues while evading immune system responses. He loves hiking and playing badminton.

Sandhiya Ravi, PhD

Postdoc Associate
Sandhiya.Ravi1 at umassmed.edu

Sandhiya obtained her Bachelors and Masters in Information Technology, and her PhD in Information and Communication Engineering from Anna University, India. Her research areas include Machine Learning, Ontology, and Tele-Medicine Systems. Sandhiya is skilled in programming languages (C, Python & R), systems design, and modeling. She is passionate about problem solving and working in a multidisciplinary and challenging environment.