Natalia Soriano-Sarabia, PhD (GW) has received an NIH CFAR Administrative Supplement entitled, “Automated Cell Isolation using the RoboSepTM System and Muse Cell Analyzer for HIV Cure Studies”.
This equipment will be used to characterize and analyze cellular reservoirs and mechanisms of their establishment and maintenance during establishment of persistent HIV infection, as well as other projects focused on HIV cure. This state-of-the-art technology will advance the Cure agenda by providing essential services within the Basic Science Core of the DC CFAR that are in line with the NIH Priorities for HIV research. Specifically, these instruments will help evaluate less frequent T cell and non-T cell reservoirs of persistent HIV (such as myeloid cells) in various anatomical sites (such as CNS, lymph nodes or gastrointestinal tract). Evaluation of the latent HIV within these less frequent cellular reservoirs requires isolating cells from their anatomical context. Demand for the DC CFAR Basic Science Core services for HIV cure research projects has been increasing over the past years and investigators from different partner institutions within the DC area benefit from those services. The new equipment will constitute an additional research resource for ongoing HIV cure projects for several investigators from the DC CFAR including Drs. Bosque, Burkinsky, Fernandes, Ghosh, Lynch, Maggirwar, Soriano-Sarabia (GWU), Catalfamo (Georgetown), Bollard (Children’s National). Dr. Soriano-Sarabia’s lab will use their expertise to train DC CFAR investigators to operate the equipment, analyze and interpret the results. We expect this new service to broaden the collaboration among the DC CFAR investigators focused on HIV cure studies.