Infectious Disease Basic Research

About Basic Research

The Division of Infectious Diseases at BIDMC performs cutting-edge basic laboratory research on the basic mechanisms of leukocyte functioning in forms of inflammation, the immunology and virology of HIV-1 infection, cellular immune response against JCV and the development and evaluation of HIV vaccines. The goal of the Divisions' basic research is to better understand the fundamental processes underlying certain infectious diseases and develop new therapies to prevent and treat infectious diseases.

Infectious Diseases Basic Research Laboratories

• Weller Lab: Led by Dr. Peter Weller, this lab has many active areas of basic laboratory research centered around understanding basic mechanisms of leukocyte functioning in forms of inflammation. The two principal areas of investigation are the immunobiology of eosinophilic leukocytes and the intracellular regulation and compartmentalization of inducible mediators of inflammation in neutrophils and other leukocytes.
• Barouch Lab: Led by Dr. Dan Barouch, this lab focuses on studying the immunology and virology of HIV-1 infection and developing novel vaccine strategies. Dr. Barouch's group is a key part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Collaborative for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (CAVD), the NIH Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI), and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard.
• Koralnik Lab: Led by Dr. Igor Koralnik, this lab is investigating Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML). Since there is no cure for PML, this lab is developing a dendritic cell-based immunotherapy for this disease.
• Dolin Lab: Led by Dr. Raphael Dolin, this lab has a major interest in the development and evaluation of HIV vaccines. This lab is also interested in the development of safe and more tolerable smallpox vaccines, as part of the NIH sponsored Translational Immunology Center.