Preston A. Marx

Dr. Preston A. Marx is a Professor of Tropical Medicine at Tulane University with over 250 publications focusing on AIDS and virology. His laboratory utilizes the SIV/macaque animal model to study HIV mucosal transmission, pathogenesis, and candidate vaccines, particularly investigating hormonal influences on viral transmission and developing novel vaccine strategies.

• Education: BS in Biology from University of New Orleans, PhD in Microbiology from Louisiana State University Medical Center.

Research interests include the simian origins of HIV-1/HIV-2 in Africa, molecular evolution of SIV into HIV, and prevention strategies for HIV transmission to women. His work has identified new SIVs in West Africa and a pathogenic HIV-2 subtype F strain.

Scientific contributions include: (1) Discovery of CCR5 deletions in wild mangabeys via non-invasive fecal genetic analysis, (2) Development of the SIV mucosal challenge system for NHP vaccine testing, and (3) Identification of 9 novel retroviruses in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

• Scientific Award: Research on SIV age and HIV origins ranked #20 in Discover Magazine's Top 100 Scientific Achievements of 2010.