CBER Expertise

Office of Blood Research and Review

Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases

Hira Nakhasi, PhD, Director
Paul Mied, PhD, Deputy Director

The Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases plans and conducts research related to the development, manufacture, pathogenesis and testing of blood born infections. These include human retroviruses (HIV-1, HIV-2, HTLV1/II), hepatitis viruses (A, B and C), parasitic agents (Leishmania, Chagas' disease, and malaria), and bacterial and tissue spongiform encephalopathies.

Laboratory of Molecular Virology

Indira Hewlett, PhD, Chief - Improving safety of the blood supply from transmission of HIV/AIDS and other emerging retroviral, blood borne viral and biodefense agents by development of sensitive diagnostic tools
Subhash Dhawan, PhD - Studies on a potential vaccine for the treatment of HIV infection and sensitive immunoassays to simultaneously detect multiple infections and monitor post-vaccination safety
Andrew I. Dayton, MD, PhD - HIV infections and the safety of the blood supply
Maria Rios, PhD - Improving the safety of the blood supply from West Nile Virus (WNV) infection by the development and evaluation of diagnostic tools for blood donor screening

Laboratory of Hepatitis and Related Emerging Agents

Gerardo Kaplan, PhD, Chief - Development and evaluation of hepatitis virus tests to assess the safety of the blood supply
Deborah R. Taylor, PhD - Development of in vitro and in vivo systems for the evaluation of products for the prevention and detection of Hepatitis C and SARS viruses in the blood supply

Laboratory of Bacterial, Parasitic, and Unconventional Agents

David M. Asher, PhD, Chief - Medical Product Purity: Maintaining biologics and other FDA-regulated products free of the infectious agents of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE agents or prions)
Hira Nakhasi, PhD - Molecular Mechanisms and Diagnosis of Leishmaniasis
Sanjai Kumar, PhD - Improving the safety of blood and blood related products by reducing the risk of transfusion transmitted malaria parasites
Alain Debrabant, PhD - Studies to evaluate blood safety: Risk of transmission of parasites such as Trypanosoma cruzi through blood transfusion
Pedro Piccardo, MD - Pathogenesis of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies