Dr. Mathad is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynecology in the Center for Global Health at Weill Cornell Medicine. She is also a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins Center for Clinical Global Health Education. Her primary research interests include the immune and metabolic changes of pregnancy and their impact on the pathogenesis of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB). Since 2010, she has been conducting research in Pune, India, on the performance of immune-based latent TB diagnostics in pregnant women with and without HIV. She also led the NIH-funded PRACHITi study (NICHD R01HD081929) there, which is investigating the impact of stage of pregnancy and HIV on the immune response to M. tuberculosis. She received an NIH K23 to compare the host immune response to M. tuberculosis in pregnant and non-pregnant women in India. She also received an NIH R21 to examine how maternal HIV, even when controlled, impacts the placenta and programming of the fetal immune system. An active member of the International Maternal, Pediatric, and Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials network (IMPAACT), Dr. Mathad chaired the only study of the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of the 3-month isoniazid/rifapentine regimen for latent TB treatment in pregnant and postpartum women (IMPAACT 2001). 

In addition to her innovative research, Dr. Mathad also devotes considerable time to mentoring students, residents, and fellows interested in global health, both in New York and India. She has a particular interest in developing the careers of female trainees and co-leads the Women in Global Health Research Initiative at Weill Cornell.