Director: Judy Lieberman, MD, PhD
lieberman@cbr.med.harvard.edu
One of the great strengths of the HU CFAR is the wealth of investigators involved in research related to AIDS virus pathogenesis. The goals of the Pathogenesis Program are to bring together CFAR researchers with an interest in pathogenesis research to address unresolved or emerging questions in HIV pathogenesis, and to create new collaborative research projects. The members of the Harvard CFAR program have a history of substantial contributions to understanding the interaction of HIV with the host cell and with host immune defenses. The program will use workshops and symposia as the mechanism for designing novel experimental strategies to solve long-standing or emerging questions. An important goal is to initiate novel collaborations that bring together investigators who have not worked together before and have complementary interests, novel technologies and/or special experimental expertise. A special emphasis will be made to include junior investigators in HIV research in new collaborations to further their career development and new avenues of HIV pathogenesis inquiry and to encourage researchers in the broader Harvard Medical School community in the forefront of new technologies, who have not worked with HIV in the past, to participate and harness their technologies to address the questions in hand. The Pathogenesis Program will work closely with the Developmental Core, through the funding of Feasibility Studies, New Investigator and New Project Awards to support new initiatives. Experimental designs that come out of the brainstorming sessions of the pathogenesis program will be developed into pilot projects for funding by the Developmental Core, or by external funding sources.
Dr. Judy Lieberman is the Director of the Pathogenesis Program. Dr. Lieberman has been involved in studies of HIV immunopathogenesis her entire career. She is Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and the Director of the AIDS Program at the CBR. She was recruited from Tufts University in 1995, and has been an active member of the CFAR leadership during the process of CFAR merger.
Current and planned focus for collaborative research: The Pathogenesis Program has been in existence for the past few years, and thus a number of initiatives are already well established as collaborative projects, and some have already identified outside funding sources.
HU CFAR Pathogenesis Mini-symposia:
This series of 4 mini-symposia highlights work by internal and external investigators in emerging fields of HIV research or areas where advances outside of HIV research might be applied to understanding HIV pathogenesis. The format was a series of 2-4 talks of 30-45 min each followed by a panel discussion by the speakers and knowledgeable researchers both within and outside HIV research and the audience to highlight areas needing further research.
• September 8, 2006: "PD-1, Immunoregulatory Networks and T Cell Dysfunction in HIV and Other Chronic Infection"
Speakers: Dan Barber, NCI; Gordon Freeman, DFCI; Bruce Walker, MGH; panelists: Arlene Sharpe, HMS; Judy Lieberman , CBRI)
(View video of this mini-symposium)
• January 26, 2007: "RNA Interference and HIV Infection"
Speakers: Mario Stevenson, UMass; Premlata Shankar, CBRI; Bharat Ramratnam, Brown; Judy Lieberman , CBRI;
Panelists: Manju Swamy, CBRI; Carl Novina, DFCI
• March 27, 2007: "Tregs and HIV Infection"
Speakers: Claire Chougnet , Cincinnati Children's Hospital (view video)
Thorsten Mempel, MGH (view video)
Panelist: Judy Lieberman
• May 30, 2007: "Mucosal Immunity and HIV Transmission, Prevention and Pathogenesis"
Speakers: Ron Veazey, Tulane National Primate Research Center (view video)
Barbara Shacklett, UC-Davis (view video)
Panel Discussion (view video)
*ALL VIDEOS REQUIRE WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER
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