Mirko Paiardini, Ph.D.
Professor, School of Medicine, Emory University
Principal Investigator (Primary Contact),
RF2 Director
Dr. Mirko Paiardini is currently a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Emory University’s School of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Paiardini serves as a Research Scientist in the Division of Microbiology and Immunology at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and co-Director of Emory Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Next Generation Therapeutics scientific working group on.
Dr. Paiardini received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Pharmacology in 2003 from the University of Urbino, wherein he also completed post-doctoral training under Dr. Mauro Magnani. After serving as a Research Associate under Dr. Guido Silvestri at the University of Pennsylvania, he was recruited to Emory University in 2010. Utilizing simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected nonhuman primates as a surrogate to model viral pathology seen in humans living with HIV (PLWH), Dr. Paiardini’s research program is focused on characterizing mechanisms of viral persistence amid long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) and harnessing novel immune-based strategies to facilitation viral remission.
Dr. Paiardini currently serves as a principal investigator or co-investigator for 13 National Institute of Health (NIH) grants awarded by the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), Mental Health (NIMH), and Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in additional to private awards from the Pitts Foundation and FastGrants for COVID-19 research. Dr. Paiardini has authored or co-authored more than 130 research peer-reviewed publications in the field of HIV immunology, including in numerous high-impact journals (Cell, Science, Nature, Nature Medicine, Immunity, ect.) with >9,600 citations and an h-index of 49. He has given >50 invited lectureships or seminar invitations at academic institutions, including plenary sessions at major immunology conferences worldwide. Dr. Paiardini currently serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Virology and as Associate Editor for Pathogens and Immunity. Furthermore, he has served on numerous study sessions for the NIH, National Science Foundation, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and on several External Scientific Advisory Boards.
Deanna Kulpa, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, School of Medicine, Emory University
Principal Investigator
RF1 Director
Dr. Deanna Kulpa is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the School of Medicine at Emory University. Dr. Kulpa is also a Researcher in the Division of Microbiology and Immunology at the Yerkes National Primate Center and Associate Director of the Virology and Molecular Biomarkers Core for the Center for AIDS Research at Emory.
Dr. Kulpa earned her Ph.D. in Human Genetics in 2005 from the University of Michigan in the laboratory of Dr. John Moran studying non-LTR retrotransoposons of the human genome. Dr. Kulpa did her post-doctoral training with Dr. Kathleen Collins at the University of Michigan, focusing on HIV mechanisms of immune system evasion. In 2012, Dr. Kulpa transferred to the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Florida as a Staff Scientist working with Drs. Rafick Sékaly and Nicolas Chomont on HIV cure research. Dr. Kulpa was recruited to Emory University in 2016 and has since established her research program focused on understanding the dynamics of the HIV reservoir that serve to maintain latently infected cells during anti-retroviral therapy.
Currently, Dr. Kulpa is principal investigator or co-investigator for 5 National Institute of Health (NIH) grants awarded by the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Dr. Kulpa also serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Virology and the Scientific Advisory Board for Jericho Sciences, LLC.
Guido Silvestri, M.D.
Professor, Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Emory university
Principal Investigator
RF3 Director
Dr. Guido Silvestri is currently a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Comparative Pathology, as well as Professor and Chair in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Silvestri is Director of the Division of Microbiology & Immunology at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center.
Dr. Silvestri received his M.D. from the University of Ancona (Italy) in 1987, and he completed his training in Internal Medicine/ Allergology & Clinical Immunology in 1993. Soon after that, he moved to North America and became involved in basic and translational research studies of AIDS pathogenesis, prevention, and therapy, mostly using non-human primate models of HIV infection.
Since 2001 Dr. Silvestri has directed an independent NIH-funded research program. He is currently the principal investigator or a co-investigator of eighteen NIH grants. Dr. Silvestri has authored or co-authored 275 peer-reviewed publications in this field, including numerous in the highest impact journals (Nature, Cell, Science, Nature Medicine, etc). He has given invited lectures at >120 different institutions and seminar series in 27 different countries. His work has been quoted >27,000 times (H-index 80) and has been presented in plenary sessions at all the major virology and immunology conferences worldwide. Dr. Silvestri is Editor of the Journal of Virology and an Associate Editor of PLoS Pathogens. He served as Chairman or Standing Member in >50 study sections and advisory committees at the National Institutes of Health, the Canadian Institute for Health Research, the American Foundation for AIDS Research, the Australian Medical Research Council, the European Commission, and various other institutions.
