Overview
Dr. Shen is an Associate Director and Deputy of the Laboratory for HIV and COVID-19 Vaccine Research & Development in the Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Sciences at Duke University Medical Center. Her research interest focuses on the humoral immune response following virus infection or vaccination. During the past decade, she has worked intensively on the specificity and breadth of binding antibody responses against HIV.
Dr. Shen’s team developed assays and analytical tools for a peptide microarray assay for finely mapping of HIV-1 cross-subtype linear epitopes targeted by antibody responses in human specimens as well as animal models, and adopted a multiplex binding antibody assay for evaluating binding antibody responses. With these technologies, her team evaluated various clinical HIV-1 vaccine studies and NHP studies. Building upon the data generated by her team and other collaborators, Dr. Shen works with bioinformatics and biostatistics personnel on deciphering immune correlates in both human clinical trials and nonhuman primate studies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her team expanded their research to SARS-COV-2 antibody responses.
In 2021, Dr. Shen became the Deputy Director of the Laboratory for HIV and COVID-19 Vaccine Research & Development, alongside Laboratory Director Dr. Montefiori. The laboratory established a lentivirus-based pseudovirus SARS-CoV-2 neutralization assay that has been FDA-approved. The laboratory is assessing neutralizing antibody responses for multiple phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trials. In addition to supporting clinical trials, the lab has a strong focus on characterizing SARS-CoV-2 variants for their neutralizing susceptibility and potential to escape from vaccine-elicited immune responses.
Meanwhile, Dr. Shen’s team remains highly active in HIV-1 vaccine research, evaluating neutralizing responses in preclinical and clinical HIV vaccine trials as a core laboratory for multiple networks including the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), the Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (CAVD) funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as the NIH Nonhuman Primate Core Humoral Immunology Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine which Dr. Shen directs.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Recent Publications
Convergence and divergence of B cell responses in two HIV-1 Env immunizations in Rhesus macaques.
Journal Article Commun Med (Lond) · May 15, 2025 BACKGROUND: Sequential multivalent immunizations are used to counter diversity in rapidly mutating viruses. Here, we evaluated the effect of HIV-1 immunogen formats on the binding profile of memory B-cells elicited in two independent Rhesus macaque trials. ... Full text Link to item CiteDistinct immune responses in people living with HIV following SARS-CoV-2 recovery.
Journal Article Commun Med (Lond) · April 23, 2025 BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 infection results in greater disease severity among immunocompromised individuals compared to healthy individuals. However, there is conflicting information about the impact of chronic HIV infection on immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 ... Full text Link to item CiteComputationally Selected Multivalent HIV-1 Subtype C Vaccine Protects Against Heterologous SHIV Challenge.
Journal Article Vaccines (Basel) · February 24, 2025 Background: The RV144 trial in Thailand is the only HIV-1 vaccine efficacy trial to date to demonstrate any efficacy. Genetic signatures suggested that antibodies targeting the variable loop 2 (V2) of the HIV-1 envelope played an important protective role. ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Nonhuman Primate Core-Option 6
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2025 - 2032HIV Vaccine Trials Network Laboratory Center
ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center · 2022 - 2027HVTN Laboratory Center: Phase 1 PF
ResearchInvestigator · Awarded by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center · 2022 - 2027View All Grants