Lab Alumni

Alicia "Ally" Mercado, BSc

MD/PhD Student at Stanford University

alicmerc@stanford.edu

My study evaluated migration across our in vitro human blood brain barrier model to examine monocyte migration in response to chemoattractants CCL2 and CXCL12.

Amira Price, BSc, MSc

Cellular and Molecular Medicine PhD Student at Johns Hopkins University

aprice49@jhmi.edu

The impact of cocaine on drug metabolism in primary human macrophages, focusing on the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP3A4 and its influence on HIV antiretroviral therapies.

Andrew Gausepohl, BSc, MSc

Biomedical Sciences PhD Student at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine

mailto:andrew.gausepohl@einsteinmed.edu

Elonna Jones, BSc

Baltimore City Regional Director for US Senator Chris Van Hollen

elonnaj@gmail.com

Elonna evaluated the immunomodulatory impact of CCL2 on interferon signaling by treating hepatocyte cells with viral mimics R848 and poly:IC along with CCL2. Her experiment sought to determine whether CCL2’s downregulation of IFN-a was virus specific, cell specific, or cytokine specific. Her results determined that the effect was not cell specific or viral specific, but rather represented a broadly occurring

Jareb Perez-Caraballo, BSc

Molecular Pathology & Immunology PhD Program at Vanderbilt University

jareb.j.perez@vanderbilt.edu

Maya Pulliam, BSc, BA

Evaluation & Data Analyst Fellow, ADG Consulting

mayamarie06@gmail.com

Despite ART making the virus undetectable in the blood, HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) remain prevalent among patients, suggesting that the drugs themselves may be affecting the brain or the blood-brain barrier. Possible endothelial dysfunction may include changes in nutrient transport and barrier integrity which could prove to be a very critical and possibly fatal issue. Information on how these HIV therapies affect the blood-brain barrier would have implications on how patients are treated for their virus as well as what preventative measures are taken to prevent infection in HIV-negative groups who are more at risk of contracting the virus.