Throughout his scientific career, Dr. Das has gained extensive knowledge in microbial genomics, virology, molecular biology, and the evolution of RNA viruses. Prior to relocating to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), he was the project director of the Viral Research Project within the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) Genomic Center for Infectious Diseases, U19, funded by the NIH/NIAID. In addition to research, his background includes lab training, supervising postdoctoral fellows and research associates, and considerable experience running large grants and contracts. As a result, he is aware of and attentive to the importance of frequent communication among project members and constructing a realistic research plan, timeline, and budget. Using genomics tools, my group is trying to understand the underlying mechanisms that contribute to evolution of RNA viruses (i.e., HIV, influenza, RSV, rotavirus EEEV, and enterovirus). For the past five years, the research focus of his lab has been focused on understanding the role of the microbiome during viral infections. To this end, his team has not only improved laboratory methods but has also developed sophisticated statistical and bioinformatic analytic pipe-lines (e.g., VIGOR, MGSAT) to analyze microbiome and other multivariate data using R. Using these tool sets we have published many high-impact publications and have made many seminal findings. Of particular interest, I have continued to focus on understanding the association of microbial agents with respiratory diseases using next generation sequencing. As the Associate Director for microbial genomics at the Vanderbilt Technologies for Advanced Genomics Center (VANTAGE), his team has both laboratory and bioinformatics skill sets to perform 16S rRNA DNA sequencing, metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses to characterize microbial community structure and functions Using these tool sets his team has published many high-impact publications and have made many seminal findings. Since moving to VUMC, he has been actively collaborating with many HIV CFAR investigators from VU and MMC as part of the CFAR LSC providing help in sample processing and microbiome data analyses. As a CFAR LSC Co-Associate Director, he and his team will support CFAR investigators to determine which genomics methodologies and assays that will be most appropriately apply to their respective research projects and goals. In summary, his team has the expertise and capabilities required to CFAR investigators achieve their respective goals.