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Head
Professor Sharon R Lewin, FRACP, PhD
Deputy Head
Dr Paul U Cameron, FRACP, FRCPA, PhD
Staff
Dr Miranda Xhilaga, PhD
Dr Suha Saleh, PhD
Dr Alyssa Cornall, BSc(Hons)
Dr Megan Crane, PhD
Dr Michelle Giles
Ms Fiona Wightman, BSc(Hons)
Ms Ajantha Solomon, BSc(Hons)
Ms Gabriela Khoury, BSc (Hons)
PhD Students
Ms Vanessa Evans, BSc (hons)
Ms Judy Chang, BSc(Hons)
Ms Reena Rajasuriar, B.Pharm, MClin Pharm
Dr David Iser, MBBS, FRACP
Dr Chris Desmond, MBBS, FRACP
Research Overview
Our research primarily focuses on how the immune system recovers from HIV infection, where HIV ‘hides’ in patients on treatment, and how HIV interacts with unique infection fighting cells called dendritic cells. The major reservoirs we are interested in are infection fighting cells called resting T-cells and the organs of the male genital tract. Improved understanding of HIV reservoirs could potentially lead to novel treatments for HIV that may eventually lead to cure of the disease.
We are also developing novel tests to measure why some HIV viruses cause more damage to the immune system than other virus strains. We are also working out how immune cells, specifically T-cells, react to hepatitis B virus (HBV) in the blood and liver, and how HIV and HBV may potentially interact in the cell. Understanding exactly how the immune system responds to HBV may lead to new treatments such as a therapeutic vaccine ie. a vaccine given to people infected with HBV which will reduce the severity of liver disease.
Finally, we are collaborating in a multi-centre international study on individuals who are infected with both HIV and HBV viruses.
Laboratory objectives
• To characterise the role of T-cells and dendritic cells in long term persistence of HIV infection
• To identify viral and host factors that influence immune recovery following treatment of HIV infection
• To identify the role of the male genital tract as an HIV reservoir
• To characterise the adaptive immune response to HBV in HBV-HIV co-infection and following antiviral treatment
• To identify novel epitopes in HBV associated with viral clearance
Research highlights
• Identification of the key role of blood dendritic cells in early transmission of HIV
• Identification of CCL19 and CCL21 as chemokines that condition resting T-cells for latency
• Development of a novel test to quantify the immune response to cytomegalovirus in HIV-infected individuals
• Identification that in individuals with chronic HBV infection, HBV-specific T-cells in the liver produce cytokines that potentially limit liver damage and are different to HBV-specific T-cells in blood