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Targeting HIV in macrophages to help achieve HIV cure

Open to students

HIV remains a global health priority with approximately 39 million people currently living with HIV and 28 million of these on life-long anti-HIV therapy. HIV can persist in a reversibly latent state in infected cells despite effective treatment and viral replication can ‘rebound’ from these cells upon therapy-cessation, precluding HIV cure. 

While CD4+ T cells are a primary target of HIV in the blood, HIV also infects myeloid cells including macrophages in tissues. These reservoirs are an important source of resurgent HIV replication when therapy is stopped and can contribute to complications such as cardiovascular disease and neurocognitive impairment in people with HIV on therapy.

Despite their importance, our knowledge of HIV infection outcomes in macrophages is incomplete and there is a dearth of knowledge regarding how HIV+ macrophages can be eliminated.

This project is open to students

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Identify strategies to help achieve a HIV cure

The objective of this work is to characterise HIV infection outcomes in different types of tissue macrophages and identify strategies to facilitate elimination to help achieve a HIV cure.

This exciting project will use a novel, primary cell model of latent HIV-infection in macrophages we have developed in combination with high content microscopy imaging to explore the following aims:

  • identify agents which can sensitise HIV+ macrophages to cell death
  • analyse latent HIV infection in different types of tissue macrophages
  • analyse novel single cell RNASeq data to characterise cellular processes driving latent HIV infection in macrophages and identify novel therapeutic targets.

Techniques involved:

  • cell culture
  • immunophenotyping/flow cytometry
  • in vitro HIV infection
  • fluorescence microscopy
  • single cell RNAseq analysis/bioinformatics.
Open to
  • Honours
  • PhD
Vacancies

1

Supervisors
Contact

Project contacts

Associate Professor Anna Hearps

Associate Professor Anna Hearps

Deputy Program Director, Disease Elimination; Head, Infection, Inflammation and Innate Immunity
annah@burnet.edu.au
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Project team

Associate Professor Anna Hearps

Associate Professor Anna Hearps

Deputy Program Director, Disease Elimination; Head, Infection, Inflammation and Innate Immunity
View profile

More student projects

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Young people’s health in Australia: statistics from the Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll survey
Open to students

Young people’s health in Australia: statistics from the Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll survey

Every year, we survey young people about their sexual health, drug use, mental health and wellbeing. That data informs public health policies and programs.

Impact of malaria and other host factors on COVID-19 immune responses following infection and vaccination
Open to students

Impact of malaria and other host factors on COVID-19 immune responses following infection and vaccination

Understanding immune development to the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) in areas of high malaria transmission will inform future COVID-19 control strategies and underlying immune development.

Hepatitis B modelling
Open to students

Hepatitis B modelling

We use mathematical and economic models to inform global efforts to achieving the elimination of hepatitis B as a public health threat.

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Why study at Burnet?

When you study at Burnet, you broaden your impact working across our three Institute-wide programs: Disease Elimination; Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness; Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health.

Train with internationally recognised experts in a structured student support system, and gain a holistic research experience along the way.

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