What We Do

Tom Imamichi, Ph.D. Laboratory Head, Senior Principal Scientist
301.846.5450

Overview

The Laboratory of Human Retrovirology and Immunoinformatics performs basic, clinical, and bioinformatic research to gain a better understanding of the immunopathological effects of HIV and HIV-related infectious diseases and how they’re influenced by genetics. We support and collaborate with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in ongoing clinical trials and applied research.

The laboratory works on HIV, HSV-1, HSV-2, KHSV, flu, and SARS-CoV2 studies from both basic and translational research perspectives.  

Innovations

  • Developed, improved and maintained the bioinformatics resource system DAVID, and the VIGILANT: HIV, SARS-Cov-2 research information tracking system to support clinical trials by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. 
  • Discovered the deletion of amino acid in HIV reverse transcriptase enhances drug resistance in multiple-class drug-resistant (MDR) HIV. 
  • First reported that Interleukin-27 possesses anti-HIV property and identified 84 novel microRNAs (miRNAs). 
  • Characterized four of the miRNAs as potent anti-viral RNAs and one as an anti-cancer RNA. 
  • Identified Ku70, a DNA repair, as a cytosolic DNA sensor that induces Interferon-lambda 1 in human cells as an unknown immune response. 
  • Identified 11 loci associated with biomarkers: hsCRP, D-dimer, and IL-6 levels in people living with HIV (PLWH). 

Focus

Basic Research Group 

  • Evaluate potential anti-HIV activity in novel reagents against multiple class drug-resistant HIV mutants. 
  • Assess the role of Interleukin-27 on ROS induction, autophagy induction, and cell differentiation in macrophages, T cells, and dendritic cells. 
  • Investigate the mechanism of Ku70-mediated novel innate immune response in human cells.
  • Investigate the mechanism of the antiviral effect by the novel anti-viral RNAs. 

Clinical and Translational Research Group 

  • Provide services to investigators at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to support clinical trials by detecting viral protein. 
    • COVID-19 
    • HIV 
  • Characterize the role of novel mutations in HIV derived from patients on drug susceptibility and viral replication fitness. 
  • Perform cell image analysis by confocal and fluorescence microscopes and the CellStream flow cytometry system.

Bioinformatics Group 

  • Conduct bioinformatics analysis to support basic and translational research.
  • Provide genome-wide association studies and next generation sequencing data analysis. 
  • Maintain DAVID and respond to users.