# The impact of the HIV reservoir on pulmonary myeloid cells: virology, phenotype, and function

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2020 · $191,160

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
This is an application for a K01 award for Dr. Joshua Vásquez, MD, Assistant Professor in the Division of
Experimental Medicine and the Division Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of California at
San Francisco who is establishing himself as a clinician-scientist in HIV immunology. His goal is to apply his
pulmonary medicine background from a clinical fellowship to study the mechanisms that underlie pulmonary
inflammation and immune dysfunction in treated HIV disease. This award will provide him with the support to
accomplish the following goals: (1) to characterize the pulmonary reservoir of HIV and (2) to determine whether
phenotypic and functional defects persist in alveolar macrophages responsible for patrolling the alveolar-
capillary barrier, despite antiretroviral therapy, particularly among those with low CD4+ T cell nadirs. To achieve
these goals, he will have four co-mentors who each have unique strengths and established track records of
productive scientific investigation and mentorship of research fellows. His primary mentor is Dr. Peter Hunt, the
interim chief of the Division of Experimental Medicine at UCSF/Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital,
and an internationally-recognized expert in HIV translational immunology, specifically the mechanisms and
consequences of chronic inflammation during treated HIV disease. Dr. Vasquez will also work with co-mentors
Dr. Joseph (Mike) McCune, a preeminent immunologist who has conducted many seminal studies in HIV
pathogenesis; Dr. Clifford Lowell, Chair of Laboratory Medicine and a recognized expert on intracellular
signaling pathways regulating inflammation in the innate immune system; and Dr. Laurence Huang, an
internationally-recognized expert in the pulmonary complications of HIV disease. He has also engaged active
collaborators who will continue to provide focused support in the areas of: HIV tissue reservoir assessment by
PCR (Dr. Steven Yukl), HIV-associated tissue pathology (Dr. Zoltan Laszik), alveolar macrophage immunology
(Dr. Mehrdad Arjomandi), biostatistics (Dr. Peter Bacchetti), pulmonary immunology (Dr. Prescott Woodruff),
as well as mass cytometry and high dimensional computational analysis (Dr. Matthew Spitzer). As a part of this
award, he will pursue additional training in translational research, immunology methods, and bioinformatics.
Leveraging access to unique patient samples, he will apply existing and novel immunologic techniques to
determine how alveolar macrophage programs are altered in the setting of HIV disease. The results of these
studies should be widely applicable to our understanding of the tissue immunology of other common diseases
and be useful to guide the development of immunomodulatory therapies targeted at myeloid cells. Ultimately,
the training and research plans outlined here will support his transition from being a basic immunologist and
clinical pulmonary/critical care specialist to being a translationa...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9846019
- **Project number:** 5K01HL140804-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Joshua Vasquez
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $191,160
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-01-08 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9846019

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9846019, The impact of the HIV reservoir on pulmonary myeloid cells: virology, phenotype, and function (5K01HL140804-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9846019. Licensed CC0.

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