Nick Llewellyn, PhD
Education: University of Washington, B.S. Biochemistry; University of Michigan, Ph.D. Molecular and Cellular Biology
Research: I am developing humanized mouse models to study HIV, specifically latency and infection of microglia in the brain. I am also developing tools to disrupt latent HIV e.g. anti-HIV nucleases such as TALENs and lentiviral vectors specifically targeted to latently infected cells. Lastly, I work on reducing off target effects of TALENs through use of non-canonical repeat variable di-nucleotides (RVDs).
Hobbies: Tennis, video games and spinning fire at Burning Man
Geoffrey Rogers, PhD
Education: UC San Diego, B.S. Molecular Biology; University of Florida, Ph.D. Immunology and Microbiology
Research: Dr. Rogers’ research is focused on using site-specific genome editing to engineer the antigen specificity of B cells. Using an approach that he conceived of to edit within the native immunoglobulin locus, it is possible to program B cells to produce heavy-chain antibodies (HCAbs) that mimic structures found in camelids.
Currently, work with this platform technology is focused on engineering HIV-specific B cells with broadly-neutralizing HCAbs. By kick-starting B cells with a highly effective antibody, we hypothesize that the mechanisms of B cells (memory, clonal expansion, affinity maturation, etc.) could help to drive prolonged control of HIV replication and provide a long-lived functional cure for this pernicious infection.
Some further innovations in this platform are focused on enhancing the functionality of the antigen-binding portion, the effector functions driven by the antibody Fc region, and expanding to additional disease targets. Much of this hands-on work is being carried out by other members of the lab under Dr. Rogers’ supervision and mentorship.
Hobbies: Cooking, and tasting wine to find good pairings with the food he cooks.
Hsu-Yu (Camille) Chen, PhD
Education: National Cheng Kung University, B.S. Life Science; National Taiwan University, M.S. Fisheries Science; University of Southern California, M.S. Microbiology; University of Southern California, Medical Biology, Ph.D.
Research: Targeted CRISPR/Cas9 delivery for anti-HIV gene editing.
Hobbies: Hiking, Camping, Wandering on the beach, Chasing animals