معرفی
Vanessa Pirrone, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology and Assistant Dean of Admissions at Drexel University College of Medicine. She holds a PhD from Drexel University College of Medicine (2009). Her research focuses on HIV pathogenesis, particularly the interplay between HIV infection and aging, cancer development, and coinfections like HCV. She leads studies on how HIV accelerates colorectal cancer progression via the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and investigates HIV's impact on immune senescence and neurocognitive impairment in aging populations.
Research Highlights:
- Explores HIV's role in accelerating colorectal cancer through Nef protein interactions with β-catenin.
- Analyzes how aging and HIV/HCV coinfection exacerbate immune activation and disease severity.
- Develops biomarkers for HIV progression and latency, with a focus on genetic and molecular mechanisms.
Publications: Dr. Pirrone has authored/co-authored over 15 peer-reviewed articles since 2013, covering topics like HIV-coinfection dynamics, Tat protein mechanisms, and neurocognitive biomarkers. Her work appears in journals such as PloS One, Retrovirology, and Journal of Neuroscience Methods.
Labs/Teams: She is affiliated with the Institute for Molecular Medicine & Infectious Disease at Drexel, collaborating on HIV/AIDS genetic analysis and neuroAIDS tissue consortium research. Her lab uses molecular biology, systems biology, and longitudinal cohort studies to advance HIV therapeutic strategies.
