Dr. Sopirala is the Chief of Infection Prevention at Parkland Health. She is an Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases at UT Southwestern. Her research interests ae intertwined with her day job of preventing healthcare associated infections (HAI). Her work in the epidemiology and prevention of HAI and multidrug resistant organisms has been published in many reputed journals. She is recognized as a national leader in her field and has served on editorial boards of reputed journals. She has served as a mentor for several trainees and co-authored several articles with them. She has led two major healthcare systems' COVID-19 response in Dallas County - Parkland Health and VA North Texas Healthcare System.