Biography
Dr. Walker is Director of the Partners AIDS Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital, and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. His work focuses on efforts to boost immunity in HIV-1 infected people in order to gain immunologic containment of the virus.
Dr. Walker's contributions include the identification of a strong cytotoxic T cell response to HIV in infected people; the identification of an association between strong HIV-1-specific T helper cell responses and control of viremia; and the demonstration of an association between strong T helper cell responses and strong CTL responses in people who are able to control viremia without drug therapy.
Dr. Walker graduated from Case Western University School of Medicine in 1980. Following an internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Robert T. Schooley, studying the cellular response to HIV in infected people.
Abstract
Immune Reconstitution in HIV Infection
Immune Reconstitution in HIV Infection. This project is based on the hypothesis that the body's natural defense mechanisms can effectively control the AIDS virus. It is based on the identification of people infected with HIV for over 20 years, who have never been treated with antiviral drugs and yet continue to be entirely well. Dr. Walker and his colleagues have already identified key components of natural defense mechanisms in these people, which work together to destroy HIV-infected cells. These include both killer cells (also called cytotoxic T cells) that kill virus-infected cells before new viruses can be produced, and helper cells that help killer cells to function efficiently. In addition, the team has shown that treatment of HIV-infected people in the earliest stages of infection leads to generation of potent helper and killer cells. The specific aims of the project focus on the establishment of a Center for HIV-1 Immunotherapy, which will provide a stable infrastructure to fuel basic science research and allow them to perform cutting-edge clinical trials to increase natural defense mechanisms against HIV. A leading program for basic science research related to HIV-1 immunology has been established, and funding from this award will expand the effort to define precisely the correlates of immune protection. Furthermore, the researchers will translate promising research findings into clinical trials to augment HIV-1-specific immunity to the benefit of infected patients.