HIV-Human Network Biology
There are currently over 37 million people living with HIV worldwide and over 1 million new infections are documented every year. The current standard of care is the daily, oral administration of a cocktail of antiretroviral drugs. While these current treatments greatly limit viral replication and prevent the onset of AIDS, they are expensive, hard to administer ubiquitously, susceptible to resistance, and they do not prevent the development of other HIV-associated malignancies. HIV researchers are working to better understand the molecular basis of HIV replication and pathogenesis in order to develop new treatment options and new standards of care.
In the Hultquist lab, we are using a combination of proteomic and functional genomic approaches to systematically map the interactions that occur between the virus and the host in different cell compartments. We are finding enormous plasticity in the virus’ ability to replicate under diverse cellular conditions, manifesting in both cell type and donor-to-donor variation. By mapping these previously unknown interactions, we are hoping to unveil new therapeutic strategies and targets that improved patient outcomes.
Active Projects:
- Mapping the physical interactions of viral proteins in myeloid compartments;
- Gene editing in mucosal, lymphoid, and peripheral T cell subsets to determine unique functional determinants of cellular compartments;
- Using single base pair insertions to refine GWAS maps and functionally characterize naturally occurring patterns of host resistance to HIV infection and progression;
- Understanding host-based functional variation in replication kinetics.
Supported by the Third Coast Center for AIDS Research (P30 AI117943), the HIV Accessory and Regulatory Complexes (HARC) Center (P50 GM082250), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R01 AI150998)