Dr Nesrina Imami

Immune reconstitution in HIV-1 infection

 

The mechanisms by which immune-based therapies increase T-cell numbers and function in chronically HIV-1-infected treated patients are not fully understood. Our experimental data suggests that an immunotherapeutic approach can affect T-cell proliferation, survival, development and differentiation, maturation and thymic output, all of which lead to enhancement of T cell function. This implies that in vivo HIV-1-specific T cell defects might be corrected by the administration of exogenous stimuli such as cytokines, hormones and/or therapeutic immunisation. Understanding the precise biochemical, molecular and cellular mechanisms involved will be crucial for the optimisation and development of these and other modes of immune-based therapies. Our work is focused on basic research and clinical studies centered around the development of novel immunotherapies. By exploiting new technologies to assess the full functionality of anti-HIV-1 responses and the genetic background to the responses we aim to significantly impact the treatment of HIV-1 and greatly improve patient immunological health.

Clinical specialities relevant to: Infectious Diseases, HIV/GU Medicine

Further Information

http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/people/n.imami/

Contact Details

Email: n.imami@imperial.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0)20 3315 5987