|
| ||||||
MEDIA CENTER Prominent AIDS Researcher Joins Population Council NEW YORK (29 November 2001) — Melissa Pope, Ph.D., an immunologist who explores the function of specialized immune cells known as dendritic cells, has joined the staff at the Population Council's Center for Biomedical Research. Pope has more than a decade of research and teaching experience, most recently at Rockefeller University, where she was an assistant professor from 1996 to October 2001. Pope's research has been instrumental in understanding the role that dendritic cells play in HIV infection, and her work has contributed to one of the major accepted theories for the mechanism of sexual transmission of HIV. Ultimately, dendritic cells may serve as targets for microbicides that can block mucosal transmission of HIV, Pope says. Dendritic cells, which are found within the body's mucosal surfaces, are among the first cells to encounter incoming pathogens. Pope's research has shown that dendritic cells, in particular, can promote viral replication and growth; when they encounter HIV, dendritic cells transmit the virus to T-cells (immune system cells that participate in a variety of cell-mediated immune reactions) and compromise the body's immune response. A native of Australia, Pope completed her Ph.D. in science, microbiology and immunology at the University of Adelaide in 1992. That year she received an appointment as postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Ralph Steinman at Rockefeller University. In addition to her research, she teaches and advises at Rockefeller University, where she is now an adjunct faculty member, and is an affiliate faculty member at Colorado State University. Pope is the recipient of the Commonwealth Postgraduate Scholarship, the Australian Society of Immunology Bursary Award, the Winston Fellowship in the Biomedical Sciences, and the Irma T. Hirschl Trust Career Scientist Award, and has received grants from the National Institutes of Health, amFAR, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Campbell Foundation, and the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. She has published 39 papers and 6 book chapters. Members of Pope's lab include: Cynthia Bristow, Ph.D., a staff scientist who explores how viral factors can modulate dendritic cell function to enhance viral spread, particularly across the mucosa. Tshaka Cunningham, a Rockefeller University graduate student working half-time on molecular aspects of virus persistence in dendritic cells and macrophages. Ines Frank, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow who investigates how the virus is captured and sequestered by dendritic cells for virus spread versus immune activation. Seol Young Han, a junior research technician who examines how the virus modifies dendritic cell biology. Jennifer Johnson Jones, a junior research technician who explores the biology of distinct dendritic cell subsets and how they handle the virus. Christine Santisteban, a part-time research technician working on her masters of science in human nutrition from the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University of Physicians and Surgeons. John Santos, a junior research technician who uses flow cytometric and fluorescent microscopy to dissect the mechanisms of virus capture and internalization by dendritic cells. Natalia Teleshova, M.D., Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow studying how unique dendritic cell subsets are exploited by the virus and how this influences transmission of infection and disease progression. Loreley Villamide, M.A., a senior research technician who studies how to use dendritic cells to induce virus-specific immunity in vivo.
|
