The HIV Controllers Study is a collaboration among scientists, clinicians, health care providers, AIDS support organizations, and patients themselves, who together seek to define the genetic basis of the ability to control HIV without medications.
If you are a study site interested in participating in a longitudinal multi-center study for HIV Controllers, please fill out this survey.
The main performance sites are:
Principal Investigator
Bruce Walker
Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Project Leaders
| Name | Focus |
|---|---|
| Florencia Pereyra | Clinical Cohort |
| Steve Deeks | Clinical Cohort |
| Paul de Bakker | Genetics |
| Mary Carrington | Genetics |
| Todd Allen | Virology |
| Matt Henn | Virology |
| Marcus Altfeld | Immunology |
| Sylvie Le Gall | Immunology |
| Hendrik Streeck | Immunology |
| Bioinformatics | |
Referring Providers and Scientists
List of Providers and Scientists
Interactive Member Map
Featured Story
Mechanisms of cytotoxic T cell control in HIV-1 infection
by Huabiao Chen and Mark Brockman
Our body responds to HIV-1 infection by generating an immune response that is composed of a complex mixture of different cell types – each of which plays an important role in combating illness. Our work focuses on cytotoxic CD8 T cells, also known as killer T cells, which can recognize and eliminate virus-infected cells. Despite the ability of all individuals to generate CD8 T cell responses against HIV-1, there is great variability in the course of disease progression among people. Some rare individuals can control viral infection very well for long periods of time, while others progress to AIDS rapidly. We believe that this variability is due largely to differences in killer T cell function. Our studies aim to determine how CD8 T cells combat HIV-1 infection by comparing the activities of cells isolated from individuals who spontaneously control infection with cells from those who fail to contain disease. We hope that this project will identify the arsenal of antiviral factors that allow T cells to recognize and eliminate HIV-1.
Laboratory Research Projects
- Degradation of HIV into epitopes
Sylvie Le Gall
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Boston, MA - Contribution of antigen processing activities to HIV control
Sylvie Le Gall
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Boston, MA - Myelomonocytic receptor expression in HIV-1 controllers
Xu Yu
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Boston, MA - Immunoregulatory networks and HIV pathogenesis
Daniel E. Kaufmann
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Boston, MA - TCR breadth and functional avidity of CTL targeting cross-binding HIV epitopes
Christian Brander and Nicole Frahm
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Boston, MA - Impact of KIR expression on CD8+ T cells
Galit Alter and Marcus Altfeld
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Boston, MA - HIV-specific Immune Response of Th17 cells
Marcus Altfeld and Hendrik Streeck
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Boston, MA - Antigen-induced downregulation of z-chain in HIV-1-specific CD8 T cells
Hendrik Streeck
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Boston, MA - Viral Sequence Evolution and CTL Escape
Todd M. Allen
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Boston, MA - Role of Regulatory T cells in HIV Infection
Marylyn Addo
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Boston, MA - Antigen-induced telomerase upregulation, telomere length and activity in HIV-1-specific CD8 T cells
Xu Yu
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Boston, MA - Epitope Identification in HIV-infected cells
Sylvie LeGall
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, MA - Epitope specific CD8 T-cell response
Florencia Pereyra
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Boston, MA - Gut Mucosal immunity to HIV-1 in controlled and progressive infection
Doug Kwon
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, MA - Examination of infectivity of envelope proteins derived from HIV-1 elite controllers, and their sensitivity
Toshi Miura
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, MA - Elite Controller NK cell licensing
Galit Alter
The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Boston, MA - Effects of CCR5 co-receptor and CCL3L1 on viral replication and cell-mediated immunity
Sunil K. Ahuja and Matthew J. Dolan
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX - Cloning broadly neutralizing antibodies from HIV patients
Michel Nussenzweig and Johannes Scheid
Rockefeller University, New York, NY - Viral Variation and the Development of Neutralizing Antibodies in HIV Controllers
Nancy L. Haigwood and Madhumita Mahalanabis
University of Washington, Seattle, WA - TLR9 polymorphisms in HIV Controllers
Joseph (Mike) McCune
UCSF Division of Experimental Medicine, San Francisco, CA - HLA-B and KIR3DL1 subtypes against HIV-1
Mary Carrington and Maureen P. Martin
National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD - Ultrasensitive viral load assay in HIV Elite controllers
John Coffin and Sarah Palmer
National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD - Gene- expression profile of exhausted T cells
W. Nicholas Haining
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA - Investigation of gp120-, p24- and tat binding IgG subclasses in plasma samples from Elite, Virus controllers and Chronic Progressors
John P Moore
Cornell University, New York, NY - Role of IgM anti-leucocyte autoantibodies (IgM- ALA) in inhibiting autologous HIV-1 entry into lymphocytes
Peter I. Lobo
University of Virgina Health System, Charlottesville, VA - Defining a Novel Correlate of Immune Control in Elite Controllers (EC) and Viremic Long-Term Nonprogressors (LTNP)
Michael Betts
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA - Inhibitory receptors on virus-specific CD8 T cells
E. John Wherry and Michael Betts
Philadelphia, PA