Miller School Researchers Featured in NIMH Virtual AIDS Meeting
Three researchers from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine HIV/AIDS and Emerging Infectious Diseases Institute will be featured Oct. 13-14 at the virtual meeting hosted by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. The topic will be “Macrophage Infection by HIV: Implications for Pathogenesis and Cure.”
Serving as moderators will be Janice E. Clements, Ph.D., from Johns Hopkins, and Mario Stevenson, Ph.D., professor, co-director of the Miami Center for AIDS Research, and division chief of infectious diseases from the Miller School of Medicine. The two-day event will examine emerging data related to macrophage interactions with the immune system during HIV infection, macrophage reservoirs and approaches to their elimination, and the involvement of CNS myeloid reservoirs and associated co-morbidities.
Featured researchers from the Miller School HIV/AIDS and Emerging Infectious Diseases Institute will include:
- James Termini, Ph.D., assistant scientist, “Modifying the Effector Functions of AAV-Delivered Anti-HIV Monoclonal Antibodies”
- Rebecca Peters, Ph.D. candidate, “Pharmacologic Suppression of HIV-1 Proviral Reactivation in Myeloid Cells”
- Michael Toborek, M.D., Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and vice chair for research in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, “Defining Brain Pericytes as a Novel and Myeloid-Derived HIV Reservoir”
The meeting will also highlight recent work on macrophage inflammation in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection and work from new NIMH-funded investigators. A panel will discuss research gaps and priorities related to human macrophage reservoirs and inflammation/co-morbidities, and treatment strategies for HIV remission and cure.
Tags: HIV/AIDS, Infectious diseases, Miami Center for AIDS Research, National Institute of Mental Health