HIV, Hepatitis, Vaccines and Immune Recovery
Dr. Rob Striker is a physician-scientist whose research aims to improve therapy for human infectious diseases.
Research Overview
Dr. Striker's current research interest focuses on immune recovery from chronic viral illness—particularly, but not exclusively, HIV.
Chronic viral illness leads to multiple immunological imbalances. The most extensively studied is a preponderance of CD8 over CD4 cells in HIV, but to a lesser extent, this also happens with Hepatitis B, cytomegalovirus, and possibly human papillomavirus. An unbalanced immune system responds less well to vaccines.
While much of the world’s HIV research community is focused on an HIV cure, knowing that the cure is durable will be challenging. Dr. Striker is focused on how to more effectively monitor and promote immunologic recovery, and why does it not reliably occur. He studies who is appropriate for anal cancer screening (because lack of immune recovery heightens risk) and STDs in general.
Dr Striker is also the PI for a phase 3 Lyme Disease vaccine study for kids and teens.
Collaborators
Striker Research Page (Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology)