Avindra Nath, MD

Senior Investigator
Section of Infections of the Nervous System

Our laboratory is interested in studying how exogenous and endogenous retroviruses persist in the brain and how these viruses acquire defective viral sequences. We are also interested in exploring how these defective viral sequences mediate neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. Current antiretroviral drugs have no impact on the reservoirs of the virus in the brain, where viral proteins can be produced that drive a neuroinflammatory response leading to neurodegeneration and cognitive dysfunction. Similarly, the activation of an endogenous retrovirus that is present in the human genome has been shown to occur in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Here too, the viral proteins play a critical role in the neuropathogenesis of the disease. The goal of our laboratory is to understand the underlying mechanisms by which these viral products cause the neurological syndromes and develop modes of blocking their expression or eradication. To achieve these goals we use a variety of in vitro and in vivo models and human studies.

Our laboratory is also interested in mechanisms of immune mediated neurological dysfunction, including autoimmunity and pathogen driven immune processes. To understand the contribution of immune responses in neurological diseases we perform antigen discovery in patient cohorts (for example: Parkinson’s disease, COVID-19. epilepsy, ALS, and opsoclonus-myoclonus) using multiple screening techniques. Additional studies are performed to determine antigen specific T cell responses and to elucidate antibody induced neurotoxic pathways.

Suggested Penn Mentors: Dennis Kolson, Amit O’Bar, James Hoxie