HIV/AIDS pathogenesis, aging and alcohol research
Seema N. Desai, PhD, is an immunologist in the Department of Pediatrics. Her research work focuses on understanding mechanisms that lead to end organ diseases and aging in HIV infected/uninfected individuals. Desai leads various HIV and aging studies that investigate immune and bio-behavioral pathways that lead to immunosenescence. Desai is the principle investigator of NIH/NIAAA-funded consortium “Immune dys-regulation in HIV infected women with heavy alcohol consumption,” which investigates immune pathways of aging in HIV-infected women drinking hazardously. She leads the NIH/NIHMD-funded project “Early Senescence in HIV disease: When race defines age,” which investigates the impact of racial differences on immune perturbations in HIV and aging adults, a part of the Rush Center for Excellence on Disparities in HIV and Aging, or CEDHA. Desai has various collaborative efforts studying HIV-associated non-AIDS co-morbidities in HIV-infected individuals.
Desai’s research experience spans from pediatric to geriatric Immunology, innate and adaptive. She did her a postdoctoral training at the University of Miami ‘s Miller School of Medicine, studying innate immunity in HIV-infected children receiving long-term anti-retroviral therapy. Desai joined Rush University in 2007. She has been an assistant professor since 2010 and has developed an independent research focus studying T cell immunity, inflammation and aging. She has a secondary appointment in the Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine.
Desai has served as a board member on the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center and Southern HIV & Alcohol Research Consortium. She has participated and led HIV/AIDS Immunology working groups and has served on editorial boards and study sections. Desai has also made numerous presentations nationally and internationally and is a recipient of numerous prestigious scholarships and awards.
Complete list of published work on PubMed
Complete list of published work on Scopus