RESEARCH
The Parker Lab for HIV Prevention, Personalized Medicine, and Applied Proteomics
The Parker Lab works to unveil mechanisms of chronic inflammation and determine implications in HIV risk. We are particularly interested in how microbes cause reprogramming of cells in their microenvironment. Our long term goal is to develop sustainable interventions to relieve disease outcomes that can be implemented globally.
Trained Immunity and the Histone Code
Immune cells can be trained by a pathogenic stimulus, and elicit an enhanced response to non-related pathogens. Current methods take a targeted approach to characterize macrophage training and through cytokine secretion and epigenetic activation. Using proteomic approaches, we are able to globally profile histone marks to discover novel mechanisms of epigenetic regulation in disease using BCG as our model.
Women's Health and HIV Prevention
Bacterial Vaginosis is the most common vaginal syndrome globally (1.2 million women). BV leads to adverse health outcomes, including increased risk for pre-term labor and HIV infection. Our goal is to understand how a non-optimal vaginal microbiome influences the local environment to discern how to increase HIV risk, using ex-vivo stimulation and proteomic approaches.
Health Disparities in Bacterial Vaginosis
Bacterial Vaginosis disproportionately affects women of color. Currently there are a lack of effective therapeutics for BV and the healthy microbiomes of Black and Hispanic women have not been well characterized. We will redefine vaginal health in a population specific manner, highlighting differences in the microbiome using AI and bioengineered platforms to determine vaginal health. Our goal is to ultimately design more effective diagnostics and identify novel therapeutic targets.
Global Research in HIV Prevention
Our research focuses span a global interest. We have active collaborations in Ghana and South Africa in women's health and HIV prevention.