Swayam Prakash
Assistant Researcher, Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine
Biography
Swayam Prakash, MS, PhD, FRSB, is Assistant Researcher in the Cellular and Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine at the University of California Irvine. He received his PhD in Biotechnology from Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, India, where his dissertation examined the molecular profiling of killer immunoglobulin-like receptors and their HLA Class-I ligands in end stage renal disease. His research focuses on vaccine development and immunogenetics, particularly developing immunotherapeutic strategies against herpes simplex virus and SARS-CoV-2 infection. At UCI, he has led projects developing multi-epitope and large-sequence Pan-Coronavirus vaccines now in advanced preclinical trial stages, which have resulted in multiple NIH funding awards including an R01 and an SBIR grant. He has also contributed to identifying HLA-A*0201-restricted CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocyte epitopes from herpes simplex virus tegument proteins as foundations for a new class of human herpes vaccines.
Prakash is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and has published 73 original research articles and review papers in vaccine development, immunogenetics, molecular biology, and emerging infectious diseases. His publications from the last decade have garnered approximately 48,626 citations with an h-index of 27, and he has been recognized by the AD Scientific Index among the world's top 3% cited scientists in 2023 and 2024. He serves as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Aging and Frontiers in Microbiology, and as Review Editor for multiple journals including Frontiers in Immunology, Viruses, and Vaccines. His work applies single-cell RNA-sequencing, bulk RNA-sequencing, and computational biology approaches to study biological pathways associated with viral pathophysiology and to design vaccine constructs using immunoinformatics and molecular dynamics simulation.
Prior to joining UCI, Prakash served as Research Associate at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, where he conducted genome-wide association studies to identify biomarkers associated with chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology and investigated the role of microRNAs in end-stage renal disease and renal allograft dysfunction. He is a member of the Institutional Biosafety Committee and Maximum Allowable Quantities Steering Committee at UCI, and serves as Regional Representative for the West Coast of the USA and India for the International Society for Vaccines. He has mentored 26 pre-med undergraduate students at UCI, with 17 subsequently joining medical schools and four joining dental schools in the United States.
Return to topEducation
- PhD in Biotechnology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, 2016
- MSc in Biotechnology, Utkal University, 2010
- BSc in Biotechnology, Utkal University, 2008
Distinctions
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB), 2025
- Senior Research Fellowship, Indian Council of Medical Research, 2014
- Junior Research Fellowship, Department of Science and Technology, 2012
- AD Scientific Index - World's Top 3% Cited Scientists, 2023-2024
Areas of Expertise
- Immunogenetics and Vaccine Development
- Pan-Coronavirus Vaccine Design
- Herpes Simplex Virus Immunotherapy
- Killer Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor Polymorphisms
- Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Analysis
- Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells
- Long COVID Biomarker Discovery
Recent Publications
- Prakash S, Karan S, Lekbach Y, Tifrea DF, Figueroa CJ, Ulmer JB, Young JF, Glenn G, Gil D, Jones TM, Redfield RR, BenMohamed L, “Insights into Persistent SARS-CoV-2 Reservoirs in Chronic Long COVID” (opens in new tab), Viruses, vol. 17, no. 10, pp. 1310, 2025.
- Vahed H, Prakash S, Quadiri A, Ibraim IC, Omorogieva E, Patel S, Tadros J, Liao EJ, Lau L, Chentoufi AA, Nesburn AB, Kuppermann BD, Ulmer JB, Gil D, BenMohamed L, “A pan-beta-coronavirus vaccine bearing conserved and asymptomatic B- and T-cell epitopes protects against highly pathogenic Delta and highly transmissible Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants” (opens in new tab), Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 2527438, 2025.
- Elfatimi E, Lekbach Y, Prakash S, BenMohamed L, “Artificial intelligence and machine learning in the development of vaccines and immunotherapeutics-yesterday, today, and tomorrow” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, vol. 8, pp. 1620572, 2025.
- Zayou L, Prakash S, Vahed H, Dhanushkodi NR, Quadiri A, Belmouden A, Lemkhente Z, Chentoufi A, Gil D, Ulmer JB, BenMohamed L, “Dynamics of spike-specific neutralizing antibodies across five-year emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern reveal conserved epitopes that protect against severe COVID-19” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 16, pp. 1503954, 2025.
- Quadiri A, Prakash S, Zayou L, Dhanushkodi NR, Chilukuri A, Ryan G, Wang K, Vahed H, Chentoufi AA, BenMohamed L, “A Spike-Based mRNA Vaccine Encapsulated in Phospholipid 1,2-Dioleoyl-sn-Glycero-3-PhosphoEthanolamine Containing Lipid Nanoparticles Induced Potent B- and T-Cell Responses Associated with Protection Against SARS-CoV-2 Infection and COVID-19-like Symptoms in Hamsters” (opens in new tab), Vaccines, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 47, 2025.
- Chentoufi AA, Prakash S, Vahed H, Karan S, Quadiri A, Nesburn AB, BenMohamed L, “A tissue-targeted prime/pull/keep therapeutic herpes simplex virus vaccine protects against recurrent ocular herpes infection and disease in HLA-A*0201 transgenic rabbits” (opens in new tab), Journal of Virology, vol. 99, no. 5, pp. e0013525, 2025.
- Quadiri A, Prakash S, Vahed H, Tadros JM, Sun M, Hormi-Carver KK, Patel SJ, BenMohamed L, “Therapeutic mucosal vaccination of herpes simplex virus type 2 infected guinea pigs with an adenovirus-based vaccine expressing the ribonucleotide reductase 2 and glycoprotein D induces local tissue-resident CD4+ and CD8+ TRM cells associated with protection against recurrent genital herpes” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 16, pp. 1568258, 2025.
- Prakash S, Dhanushkodi NR, Zayou L, Ibraim IC, Quadiri A, Coulon PG, Tifrea DF, Suzer B, Shaik AM, Chilukuri A, Edwards RA, Singer M, Vahed H, Nesburn AB, Kuppermann BD, Ulmer JB, Gil D, Jones TM, BenMohamed L, “Cross-protection induced by highly conserved human B, CD4+, and CD8+ T-cell epitopes-based vaccine against severe infection, disease, and death caused by multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 15, pp. 1328905, 2024.
- Coulon PG, Prakash S, Dhanushkodi NR, Srivastava R, Zayou L, Tifrea DF, Edwards RA, Figueroa CJ, Schubl SD, Hsieh L, Nesburn AB, Kuppermann BD, Bahraoui E, Vahed H, Gil D, Jones TM, Ulmer JB, BenMohamed L, “High frequencies of alpha common cold coronavirus/SARS-CoV-2 cross-reactive functional CD4+ and CD8+ memory T cells are associated with protection from symptomatic and fatal SARS-CoV-2 infections in unvaccinated COVID-19 patients” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 15, pp. 1343716, 2024.
- Dhanushkodi NR, Prakash S, Quadiri A, Zayou L, Srivastava R, Shaik AM, Suzer B, Ibraim IC, Landucci G, Tifrea DF, Singer M, Jamal L, Edwards RA, Vahed H, Brown L, BenMohamed L, “Antiviral and Anti-Inflammatory Therapeutic Effect of RAGE-Ig Protein against Multiple SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern Demonstrated in K18-hACE2 Mouse and Syrian Golden Hamster Models” (opens in new tab), Journal of Immunology, vol. 212, no. 4, pp. 576-585, 2024.
- Quadiri A, Prakash S, Dhanushkodi NR, Singer M, Zayou L, Shaik AM, Sun M, Suzer B, Lau LSL, Chilukurri A, Vahed H, Schaefer H, BenMohamed L, “Therapeutic prime/pull vaccination of HSV-2-infected guinea pigs with the ribonucleotide reductase 2 (RR2) protein and CXCL11 chemokine boosts antiviral local tissue-resident and effector memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and protects against recurrent genital herpes” (opens in new tab), Journal of Virology, vol. 98, no. 5, pp. e0159623, 2024.
- Ranjan P, Ghoshal U, Prakash S, Pandey A, Shukla R, “Genetic variability of histidine-rich protein 2 repeat sequences: Misleading factor in true determination of Plasmodium falciparum in different population” (opens in new tab), Indian J Med Microbiol, vol. 49, pp. 100616, 2024.
- Zayou L, Prakash S, Dhanushkodi NR, Quadiri A, Ibraim IC, Singer M, Salem A, Shaik AM, Suzer B, Chilukuri A, Tran J, Nguyen PC, Sun M, Hormi-Carver KK, Belmouden A, Vahed H, Gil D, Ulmer JB, BenMohamed L, “A multi-epitope/CXCL11 prime/pull coronavirus mucosal vaccine boosts the frequency and the function of lung-resident memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and enhanced protection against COVID-19-like symptoms and death caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection” (opens in new tab), Journal of Virology, vol. 97, no. 12, pp. e0109623, 2023.
- Dhanushkodi NR, Prakash S, Quadiri A, Zayou L, Srivastava R, Tran J, Dang V, Shaik AM, Chilukurri A, Suzer B, Vera P, Sun M, Nguyen P, Lee A, Salem A, Loi J, Singer M, Nakayama T, Vahed H, Nesburn AB, et al., “Mucosal CCL28 Chemokine Improves Protection against Genital Herpes through Mobilization of Antiviral Effector Memory CCR10+CD44+CD62L-CD8+ T Cells and Memory CCR10+B220+CD27+ B Cells into the Infected Vaginal Mucosa” (opens in new tab), Journal of Immunology, vol. 211, pp. 118-129, 2023.
- Dhanushkodi NR, Prakash S, Srivastava R, Coulon PA, Arellano D, Kapadia RV, Fahim R, Suzer B, Jamal L, Vahed H, BenMohamed L, “Antiviral CD19+CD27+ Memory B Cells Are Associated with Protection from Recurrent Asymptomatic Ocular Herpesvirus Infection” (opens in new tab), Journal of Virology, vol. 96, no. 5, pp. e0205721, 2022.
- Prakash S, Srivastava R, Coulon PG, Dhanushkodi NR, Chentoufi AA, Tifrea DF, Edwards RA, Figueroa CJ, Schubl SD, Hsieh L, Buchmeier MJ, Bouziane M, Nesburn AB, Kuppermann BD, BenMohamed L, “Genome-Wide B Cell, CD4+, and CD8+ T Cell Epitopes That Are Highly Conserved between Human and Animal Coronaviruses, Identified from SARS-CoV-2 as Targets for Preemptive Pan-Coronavirus Vaccines” (opens in new tab), Journal of Immunology, vol. 206, pp. 2566-2582, 2021.
Most Cited Publications
- Coulon PG, Dhanushkodi N, Prakash S, Srivastava R, Roy S, Alomari NI, Nguyen AM, Warsi WR, Ye C, Carlos-Cruz EA, Mai UT, Cruel AC, Ekmekciyan KM, Pearlman E, BenMohamed L, “NLRP3, NLRP12, and IFI16 Inflammasomes Induction and Caspase-1 Activation Triggered by Virulent HSV-1 Strains Are Associated With Severe Corneal Inflammatory Herpetic Disease” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 10, pp. 1631, 2019.
- Roy S, Coulon PG, Prakash S, Srivastava R, Geertsema R, Dhanushkodi N, Lam C, Nguyen V, Gorospe E, Nguyen AM, Salazar S, Alomari NI, Warsi WR, BenMohamed L, “Blockade of PD-1 and LAG-3 Immune Checkpoints Combined with Vaccination Restores the Function of Antiviral Tissue-Resident CD8+ T_RM Cells and Reduces Ocular Herpes Simplex Infection and Disease in HLA Transgenic Rabbits” (opens in new tab), Journal of Virology, vol. 93, no. 18, pp. e00827-19, 2019.
- Prakash S, Agrawal S, “Significance of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors in autoimmune diseases” (opens in new tab), Clinical Immunology, vol. 216, 2020.
- Srivastava R., Roy S., Coulon P.-G., Vahed H., Prakash S., Dhanushkodi N., Kim G.J., Fouladi M.A., Campo J., Teng A.A., Liang X., Schaefer H., BenMohamed L., “Therapeutic mucosal vaccination of herpes simplex virus 2-infected guinea pigs with ribonucleotide reductase 2 (RR2) protein boosts antiviral neutralizing antibodies and local tissue-resident CD4+ and CD8+ TRM cells associated with protection against recurrent genital herpes” (opens in new tab), Journal of Virology, vol. 93, 2019.
- Prakash S, Roy S, Srivastava R, Coulon PG, Dhanushkodi NR, Vahed H, Jankeel A, Geertsema R, Amezquita C, Nguyen L, Messaoudi I, Burkhardt AM, BenMohamed L, “Unique molecular signatures of antiviral memory CD8+ T cells associated with asymptomatic recurrent ocular herpes” (opens in new tab), Scientific Reports, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 13843, 2020.
Contact Information
Website: https://www.swayam-prakash.com/
Email: fswayamp@hs.uci.edu
Phone: (949) 923-0583
Address: Hewitt Hall, Irvine, CA 92697
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Last updated on 3/12/2026.