Work in the Joel Blankson Lab explores the mechanism of control of HIV-1 replication in a cohor...t of patients known as elite controllers or elite suppressors. These patients are HIV-1 seropositive but maintain levels of viremia that are below the limit of detection of standard clinical assays. We feel that elite suppressors represent a potential model for a therapeutic HIV vaccine. Our central hypothesis is that many of these patients are infected with fully replication-competent HIV-1 isolates that are held in check by the immune system. To test this hypothesis, we are studying many different host and viral factors in these patients. view more

Research in the Justin Bailey Lab explores immune responses against hepatitis C virus (HCV), pa...rticularly neutralizing antibody responses, with the goal of guiding vaccine development against the virus. Recent studies have demonstrated that early and broad neutralizing antibody (nAb) responses against HCV are associated with HCV clearance, suggesting a key role for nAb in limiting HCV replication. The findings of this research will enhance understanding of how HIV infection may contribute to the lower rate of HCV clearance in HCV/HIV coinfected individuals, and the results could have implications for persistence of other viruses commonly occurring as coinfections with HIV. view more

Research in the Kawsar Rasmy Talaat Lab focuses on international health and parasitology, with ...an emphasis on vaccines, avian influenza and pandemic influenza. Our team conducts clinical trials of vaccines for a range of diverse pathogens, including flu strains that have the potential to reach pandemic status. Our studies seek to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of vaccine candidates. We also have a longstanding interest in tropical medicine. view more

Research in the Liliana Florea Lab applies computational techniques toward modeling and problem... solving in biology and genetic medicine. We work to develop computational methods for analyzing large-scale sequencing data to help characterize molecular mechanisms of diseases. The specific application areas of our research include genome analysis and comparison, cDNA-to-genome alignment, gene and alternative splicing annotation, RNA editing, microbial comparative genomics, miRNA genomics and computational vaccine design. Our most recent studies seek to achieve accurate and efficient RNA-seq correction and explore the role of HCV viral miRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma. view more

The Maryam Jahromi Lab researches infectious diseases such as influenza, tuberculosis, endocard...itis, viral hemorrhagic fevers, brucellosis, Clostridium difficile and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. We are particularly interested in the impact of the influenza vaccine on systemic inflammation. Recent areas of focus include the relationship between influenza vaccination and cardiovascular outcomes, the emergence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Iran, and prospects for vaccines and therapies for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. view more

Research in the Raymond Reid Lab focuses on community health and pediatric infectious diseases ...among Native American populations; epidemiologic studies of enteric infections, Haemophilus influenzae, and pneumococcus; and field testing of vaccines and treatments. view more

The William Bishai Laboratory studies the molecular pathogenesis of tuberculosis. The overall g...oal of our laboratory is to better understand tuberculosis pathogenesis and then to employ this understanding toward improved drugs, vaccines and diagnostics. Since Mycobacterium tuberculosis senses and adapts to a wide array of conditions during the disease process, it is clear that the regulation of expression of virulence factors plays an important role in pathogenesis. As a result, a theme of our research is to assess mycobacterial genes important in gene regulation. We are also interested in cell division in mycobacteria and the pathogenesis of caseation and cavitation. view more