Dr. Balaji Veeraraghavan is the Hilda Lazarus Core Research Chair and Professor of Clinical Microbiology at Christian Medical College, Vellore. He holds an MBBS, MD, PhD, and FRCP, bringing together strong clinical and research credentials in the field of microbiology and infectious diseases.
Dr. Balaji Veeraraghavan’s research focuses on antimicrobial resistance, encompassing molecular resistance surveillance, evaluation of newer agents, and the epidemiology of drug-resistant pathogens. He leads a research group with a multifaceted approach to studying the epidemiology and genomics of pathogens, work that has helped establish antimicrobial resistance as a major public health concern.
He serves as the principal investigator for vaccine-preventable invasive bacterial disease surveillance for the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, and is the national nodal centre for antimicrobial resistance surveillance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and enteric infections. He has also served as a temporary scientific advisory board member for several WHO Committees, including those on emerging bacterial infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance surveillance.
Publications
1. Devanga Ragupathi NK, Veeraraghavan B. Accurate identification and epidemiological characterization of Burkholderia cepacia complex: an update. Ann Clin Microbiol Antimicrob. 2019 Feb 4;18(1):7. doi: 10.1186/s12941-019-0306-0. PMID: 30717798; PMCID: PMC6360774.
2.Amladi AU, Abirami B, Devi SM, Sudarsanam TD, Kandasamy S, Kekre N, Veeraraghavan B, Sahni RD. Susceptibility profile, resistance mechanisms & efficacy ratios of fosfomycin, nitrofurantoin & colistin for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae causing urinary tract infections. Indian J Med Res. 2019 Feb;149(2):185-191. doi: 10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_2086_17. PMID: 31219082; PMCID: PMC6563748.
3. Bakthavatchalam YD, Ralph R, Veeraraghavan B, Babu P, Munusamy E. Evidence from an In Vitro Study: Is Oxacillin Plus Vancomycin a Better Choice for Heteroresistant Vancomycin-Intermediate Staphylococcus aureus? Infect Dis Ther. 2019 Mar;8(1):51-62. doi: 10.1007/s40121-018- 0224-z. Epub 2018 Nov 21. PMID: 30460607; PMCID: PMC6374240.
4. Khiangte HL, Robinson Vimala L, Veeraraghavan B, Yesudhason BL, Karuppusami R. Can the imaging manifestations of melioidosis prognosticate the clinical outcome? A 6-year retrospective study. Insights Imaging. 2019 Feb 13;10(1):17. doi: 10.1186/s13244-019-0708-8. PMID: 30758675; PMCID: PMC6375099.
5. Agrawal V, Valson AT, Mohapatra A, David VG, Alexander S, Jacob S, Bakthavatchalam YD, Prakash JAJ, Balaji V, Varughese S. Fast and furious: a retrospective study of catheter-associated bloodstream infections with internal jugular nontunneled hemodialysis catheters at a tropical center. Clin Kidney J. 2019 Feb 5;12(5):737-744. doi: 10.1093/ckj/sfy138. PMID: 31583098; PMCID: PMC6768464.
6. Devanga Ragupathi NK, Muthuirulandi Sethuvel DP, Gajendran R, Anandan S, Walia K, Veeraraghavan B. Horizontal Transfer of Antimicrobial Resistance Determinants Among Enteric Pathogens Through Bacterial Conjugation. Curr Microbiol. 2019 Jun;76(6):666-672. doi: 10.1007/s00284- 019-01676-x. Epub 2019 Apr 2. PMID: 30941540.
