Overview
As a physician and researcher, my career has been driven by a passion for linking the basic and clinical sciences with the primary goal of understanding the disease pathogenesis. Through my training in epidemiology, basic science immunology, and clinical medicine, I have acquired a breadth of experience, knowledge, collaborators, and an adaptability which has culminated in a research focus on the reconstitution of immune responses and systemic inflammation in immunocompromised patients and vulnerable populations. My research focuses on T cell immunology utilizing a variety of platforms including polychromatic flow cytometry, cytokine multiplexing, and novel single cell assays. My initial research centered on the immune reconstitution syndrome (IRIS), with a focus on the mycobacterial precipitants of the disease, its epidemiology, and research efforts into elucidating the pathogenesis of the syndrome. Recently, I have translated my interest in co-infection immunology in the immunocompromised transplant population. With a career long interest in contrasting compartmental and peripheral immune responses, I have partnered with engineers in the Duke Pratt School of Engineering in order to develop novel single cell immune assays in order to comprehensively profile the immune response on limited specimens.
Current Duke Appointments & Affiliations
Associate Professor of Medicine
·
2018 - Present
Medicine, Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine,
Medicine
Recent Scholarly Works
B70-10 Characterizing the Nasopharyngeal Microbiome of Adult Women Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Botswana
Conference American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine · May 1, 2026 AbstractRationalePeople living with HIV are at increased risk of respiratory infections. The nasopharyngeal microbiome plays an ... Full text CiteSingle cell multiomic analysis of the impact of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on HIV infected CD4 T cells.
Journal article J Cannabis Res · March 5, 2026 Cannabis use is prevalent among individuals living with HIV in the United States, but the impact of cannabis exposure on the reservoir of latently infected cells that persists during antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains unclear. To address this gap, we ana ... Full text Link to item CiteAlterations of the Upper Respiratory Microbiome Among Children Living With HIV Infection in Botswana.
Journal article J Infect Dis · October 15, 2025 Children living with HIV (CLWH) are at high risk of colonization and infection by respiratory pathogens, though this risk can be reduced by other microbes in the upper respiratory microbiome. The impact of HIV infection on the pediatric upper respiratory m ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
The impact of cannabis use on the inflammasome in people with HIV
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2026 - 2031Interdisciplinary Research Training Program in AIDS
Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2010 - 2030Investigating Senolytic Properties in Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Metformin in COPD Exacerbations (INSPIRE-COPD-E).
ResearchCo-Mentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2025 - 2030View All Grants
Education
Medical University of South Carolina, College of Medicine ·
1999
M.D.