Howard Fox

Howard Fox is a Professor in the Department of Neurological Sciences at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), serving as Senior Associate Dean of Research and Development for the College of Medicine. He directs the Center for Integrative and Translational Neuroscience and co-leads the Great Plains IDeA-CTR initiative.

Education:

• BA & MA, Johns Hopkins University (1980)
• PhD, University of California, San Francisco (1985)
• MD, University of California, San Francisco (1987)

Research Focus: Dr. Fox specializes in NeuroHIV and aging, with expanding work into Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, traumatic brain injury, and substance abuse neurobiology. His lab pioneers multi-omic approaches (transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic) to study disease mechanisms using SIV/macaque models, emphasizing how chronic HIV interacts with neurodegenerative processes and extracellular vesicle dynamics. Collaborations with former trainees now leading independent UNMC labs drive translational applications.

Leadership: He directs the Chronic HIV Infection and Aging in NeuroAIDS Center with six specialized cores (Cell-Tissue Animal, Imaging, Omics, Therapeutics, Administrative, Developmental) and leads the Data Coordinating Center for the 20-year National NeuroAIDS Tissue Consortium—a four-site study providing critical biospecimens and data to global researchers investigating HIV's neurological impact.

Mentorship: Dr. Fox trains students/postdocs in molecular integration of multi-omic datasets and neuroimmunology, with projects examining brain immune responses and neuronal dysfunction in HIV persistence. Trainees develop independent work within collaborative frameworks spanning virology, neuroscience, and computational biology.