1). Identifying and overcoming mechanisms by which HIV-infected cells resist immune clearance.
2). How do the genomic integration sites of HIV proviruses influence viral persistence on therapy.
3). Targeting delivery of therapeutic agents to HIV-infected cells.
4). Optimizing T-cell vaccine strategies to prevent viral escape.
5). Clinical trials of immunotherapeutic agents to induce HIV remission.
We aim to understand the relationships between HIV and the human immune system – primarily cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells – towards the ultimate goal of developing a cure.
Modern therapies can dramatically improve the health of people living with HIV who have access to care, but cannot cure infection. The Jones Lab at Weill Cornell Medicine is committed to harnessing cellular immune responses (T-cells and natural killer cells) to improve upon this status quo, by developing therapies that are able to either cure infection or to further restore health by reducing viral reservoirs. We approach this challenge by seeking to understand the factors that prevent these immune responses from naturally eradicating infection and devising potential solutions to these obstacles that can be tested in our preclinical models.
With the help of our collaborators, the solutions that we are exploring span a broad and multidisciplinary spectrum ranging from: the enhancement of immune cell function through genetic or materials science engineering, the identification and characterization of latency reversal and immunotherapeutic drugs or biologics that are able to synergize with T-cells or NK cells, and the development of strategies to target T-cells against non-escaped viral epitopes.
Biography
Dr. Jones is a Viral Immunologist and an Associate Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases with a cross-appointment in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. He received his PhD in Immunology from the University of Toronto before beginning a post-doctoral fellowship at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard in 2012. He currently serves as Principal Investigator of the $28M Research Enterprise to Advance a Cure for HIV (REACH), one of the NIH’s flagship ‘Martin Delaney Collaboratories’.
Distinctions:
Principal investigator of the Research Enterprise to Advance a Cure for HIV (REACH)
Steering Committee Member – Global Scientific Strategy for an HIV Cure (International AIDS Society)
Scientific Advisory Board Member – French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis (ANRS)
