Our Science – Lifson Website

Jeffrey D. Lifson, M.D.

AIDS and Cancer Virus Program Head, Retroviral Pathogenesis Section Program Director (Contr) SAIC-Frederick, Inc. NCI-Frederick Building 535, Suite 510 Frederick, MD 21702-1201 Phone:   301-846-1408 Fax:   301-846-5588 E-Mail:   lifson@ncifcrf.gov

Biography

Dr. Lifson received his M.D. from Northwestern University Medical School in 1982, then pursued his residency and research fellowship training in the Department of Pathology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He became involved in AIDS-related research in 1983, playing a key role in establishing the first program in the United States to try to prevent transfusion-mediated transmission of AIDS through laboratory testing, while also conducting basic in vitro studies of AIDS pathogenesis. After several years of continuing research in AIDS pathogenesis while working in the biotechnology industry, Dr. Lifson moved to the NCI-Frederick in 1995, establishing the Retroviral Pathogenesis Section within the AIDS Vaccine Program. His work there has focused on the continuing development and application of quantitative virological and immunological methods for understanding retroviral pathogenesis and evaluating approaches for the prevention and treatment of retroviral infection and AIDS. In 2002, Dr. Lifson was named the director of the AIDS Vaccine Program.

Research

The Retroviral Pathogensis Section conducts both in vitro and in vivo studies aimed at improving our understanding of the basis of lentiviral pathogenesis, particularly those aspects relevant to the development and evaluation of an effective vaccine for the prevention of HIV infection and AIDS. While some work is performed with HIV itself, much of the effort of the laboratory is focused on the study of experimental SIV infection of macaques, chiefly Indian subspecies rhesus macaques. This system represents an animal model that recapitulates most key features of HIV pathogenesis, but in a setting that allows informative controlled experimental manipulations that would not be feasible in the clinical setting. The work emphasizes both applied studies such as the in vitro and in vivo evaluation of candidate vaccine approaches (immunogens, adjuvants, modes of immunization) and more basic studies aimed at characterizing basic processes potentially relevant to vaccine development. These studies emphasize the dynamics of virus/host interactions during primary infection and characterization of the virus/host interactions associated with situations of effective host control of replication of pathogenic challenge viruses.

We are pursuing studies in various different contexts, including analysis of vaccinated animals successfully controlling infection, animals successfully controlling infection as a consequence of transient early antiretroviral treatment (ART), and untreated, unvaccinated SIV-naive animals demonstrating effective 'spontaneous' control of infection with pathogenic SIV. Although we are conducting studies in these very different settings, an underlying premise is that there may be common features identifiable in these different settings that distinguish animals capable of effective control of pathogenic infection, from the vast majority of animals that are not able to successfully contain infection. We have developed an extensive panel of virologic and immunologic analytical techniques and believe that in combination with characterization of MHC genetics and other host factors, application of these approaches should help to identify common factors or mechanisms underlying successful control of pathogenic AIDS virus infection. Clearly, definition of such factors and mechanisms will provide both important insights into an improved understanding of basic mechanisms of AIDS virus pathogenesis and practical information relevant to the design and development of effective vaccines for the prevention of HIV infection and AIDS.

Key collaborators include: Ron Desrosiers, Harvard Medical School/New England National Primate Research Center
Dr. Paul Johnson, Harvard Medical School/New England National Primate Research Center
Dr. Bruce Walker, Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr. Nina Bhardwaj, New York University
Dr. Melissa Pope, The Population Council
Dr. James Hoxie, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Ronald Veazey, Tulane University/Tulane National Primate Research Center
Dr. Andrew Lackner, Tulane University/Tulane National Primate Research Center
Dr. Chris Petropoulous, Virologic, Inc.
Dr. Chris Miller, UC Davis/California National Primate Research Center
Dr. Keith Reimann, Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Dr. Joern Schmitz, Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Dr. Norbert Bischofberger, Gilead Sciences
Dr. Shiu Lok Hu, University of Washington/Washington National Primate Research Center
Dr. James Hildreth, Johns Hopkins University Medical School
Dr. Malcolm Martin, LMM/NIAID
Dr. Vanessa Hirsch, LMM/NIAID
Dr. Mary Carrington, LGD/SAIC Frederick, Inc/NCI Frederick
Dr. Vineet KewalRamani (DRP/NCI Frederick)
Dr. Raoul Benveniste, BRP/NCI
Dr. Robert Seder, Vaccine Research Center/NIAID
Dr. Louis Picker, Oregon Health Sciences University
Dr. Donald Sodora, Southwestern Medical Center, University of Texas

This page was last updated on 7/23/2008.