Justin Joseph Pollara

Dr. Justin Pollara is a member of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and the Duke Center for Human Systems Immunology, and is Associate Director of the Duke Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Developmental Core. He received his PhD from North Carolina State University and completed his postdoctoral training as a recipient of the Duke NIH Interdisciplinary Research Training Program in AIDS (IRTPA) T32 award in the laboratory of Dr. Guido Ferrari. He joined the faculty of the Duke Department of Surgery in 2016.

A common theme of research performed in Dr. Pollara’s laboratory is a focus on interactions between innate and adaptive immunity. Dr. Pollara’s work has contributed significantly to the understanding of the roles played by non-neutralizing antibodies in limiting HIV-1 disease progression, and in prevention of infection or control of virus replication in preclinical and clinical HIV-1 vaccine trials. Dr. Pollara’s research has also identified specific components of the immune response that reduce the risk of vertical transmission of both HIV-1 and human cytomegalovirus. The Pollara lab characterizes the phenotype and functionality of antibody-interacting innate immune cells and explores how natural genetic variation in antibodies and antibody receptors may contribute to vaccine responsiveness and immune competence. Further, with a strong interdisciplinary and collaborative approach, the Pollara Lab has broadened its scope beyond infectious diseases and is now actively leading studies aimed at understanding how inflammation, antibodies, innate immune cells, and newly described populations of T cells promote allograft injury that underlies rejection of transplanted organs.