Although advanced combination anti-retroviral therapy (ART) is highly successful at preventing AIDS progression, it is incapable of curing HIV infection primarily due to the persistence in a pool of latently infected cells in anatomic sites such as the lymph nodes, gut, and the central nervous system (CNS) that carry replication-competent reservoir virus.
In people living with HIV (PLWH), the use of stimulants is a major risk factor for pathogenesis in the brain such as neuroinflammation and neurocognitive disorders, which impacts ART adherence, viral replication, transmission, and persistence.
The lab studies how the abused substance causes neuroinflammation, impacts the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and maintains or enhances HIV/SIV persistence in the CNS. By working with collaborators, the lab is also interested in whether the administration with chronic cannabinoid delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can reduce/reverse neuroinflammatory responses.