ASSISTANT PROFESSOR | Medicine, Infectious Diseases

During my doctoral and post-doctoral training, my research was focused on understanding the interplay between viral infections and the host immune response. In particular, I was interested in how Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) evades human innate and adaptive immune responses. While the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has turned HIV/AIDS into a lifelong, chronic infection in most of the developed world, the epidemic continues to be an ongoing and substantial threat to public health in the developing world where approximately 90% of people infected with HIV/AIDS reside. Therefore, the development of an effective HIV vaccine is widely believed to be the most effective way to control the spread of HIV infection in endemic areas. My research aims to identify and characterize the mechanisms by which the human immune system can effectively inhibit HIV replication, which will aid in the development of an effective HIV vaccine.