Scientists

Rafi Ahmed, Ph.D.
John Altman, Ph.D.
Rama Rao Amara, Ph.D.
Jerry L. Blackwell, Ph.D.
Richard Compans, Ph.D.
Max D. Cooper, M.D.
Cynthia A. Derdeyn, Ph.D.
Mary R. Galinski, Ph.D.
David A. Garber, Ph.D.
Arash Grakoui, Ph.D.
Eric Hunter, Ph.D.
Chris C. Ibegbu, Ph.D.
Joshy Jacob, Ph.D.
Louise McCormick, Ph.D.
Robert S. Mittler, Ph.D.
Edward Mocarski, Ph.D.
Alberto Moreno, M.D.
Mark Mulligan, M.D.
Francis Novembre, Ph.D.
Walter A. Orenstein, M.D.
Guey Chuen Perng, Ph.D.
Bali Pulendran, Ph.D.
Jyothi Rengarajan, Ph.D.
Samuel Speck, Ph.D.
David S. Weiss, Ph.D.

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HIV/AIDS Research

Scientists

Cynthia A. Derdeyn, Ph.D.

Area of Research: HIV/AIDS

Cynthia A. Derdeyn (b.1964) obtained her Ph.D. Degree from Georgia State University in 1994 studying the generation of defective-interfering particles by rubella virus. She began investigating HIV-1 pathogenesis as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Ronald Collman at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In 1997, she joined Dr. Pat Bucy in the Department of Pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to study HIV-1 latency. In 1999, she began working with Dr. Eric Hunter in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and initiated her translational research programs into the mechanisms of HIV-1 entry and heterosexual transmission. Dr. Derdeyn recently joined the Emory Vaccine Center as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

Research

To study heterosexual transmission of HIV-1, we have analyzed the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of viruses transmitted between partners enrolled in a large HIV-discordant couple cohort in Zambia (The Zambia-Emory HIV Research Project, Dr. Susan Allen, P.I.). We have characterized over 200 viral Env proteins derived from eight donor-recipient transmission pairs, and have found that transmission consistently selects for a compact, neutralization-sensitive variant of the HIV-1 surface glycoprotein, gp120. We are currently extending these studies to investigate the nature of this strong selection on the env gene during transmission and to understand how the Env glycoproteins evolve from early infection into chronic disease. Information provided from these studies will also be used to design Env-based vaccine immunogens targeted at eliciting a potent neutralizing antibody response.

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