An internist by training, she began her career in public health as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2001. Ram served as a medical epidemiologist at the CDC from 2003 to 2005. During her public health career, she has conducted numerous outbreak investigations, participated in the CDC response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as well as the anthrax bioterrorism events of that year. She is also co-Director of the Community for Global Health Equity at the University at Buffalo.