معرفی
Carrie Down Johnston, M.D., serves as Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Weill Cornell Medical College and Assistant Attending Physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Board-certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease, she specializes in HIV care at the Center for Special Studies (HIV/AIDS) in New York City.
Her academic foundation includes a B.S. from Cornell University (2008), M.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine (2013), and M.S. in Clinical and Translational Science from Weill Cornell Graduate School (2020). She completed residency, chief residency, and infectious diseases fellowship at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Dr. Johnston's research program investigates inflammation, cellular stress, and cognitive dysfunction in older adults with HIV, seeking to improve healthy aging through biomarker discovery. Her work prominently features cell-free mitochondrial DNA as a predictor of geriatric syndromes, with significant contributions to understanding cardiometabolic risks, neurocognitive impairment, and social determinants of health in this population.
Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2020-2025) reveals three dominant research trajectories: (1) molecular mechanisms linking mitochondrial dysfunction to cognitive decline, (2) intersection of social factors (food insecurity, trauma history) with biological aging processes, and (3) comorbidity management including hepatic steatosis and cardiovascular risks. Her Nature Communications paper on SARS-CoV-2 vaccination exposing latent HIV demonstrates innovative immunological approaches.
Dr. Johnston leads major NIH-funded initiatives including:
- Principal Investigator: Northeast/Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Centers (NICHD, 2024-2025)
- Principal Investigator: Cellular Immunometabolic Mechanisms in HIV-Related CVD (NHLBI, 2021-2026)
- Co-Investigator: Aging with HIV: Novel Biomarkers of Inflammation (NIA, 2024-2029)
- Co-Investigator: Weill Cornell-Rutgers Clinical Trials Unit (NIAID, 2021-2025)
She maintains active industry collaborations with MedPage Today and Theratechnologies Inc., focusing on clinical education and therapeutic development for HIV management.
