Lab Overview & Research
Welcome! The Roan Lab studies the molecular interactions between RNA viruses and T cells, in the context of viral immunity, persistence, and pathogenesis. We study the mechanisms by which intracellular and extracellular factors in the tissue microenvironment that can affect HIV transmission through mucosal sites. We use a variety of multi-omics single-cell analysis approaches, including CyTOF and single-cell sequencing, paired with bioinformatics analyses, to characterize the mechanisms by which HIV persists in people living with HIV despite suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART), and to discover ways to achieve ART-free HIV control. Multi-omics tools are also being used to characterize T cell immunity in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination, as well as immunopathogenesis in the context of acute COVID-19 and post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19. Another research interest of the lab is to understand the cross-talk between endometrial lymphocytes, decidual cells, and soluble factors in seminal plasma in the context of reproductive health, and how these interactions can become dysregulated in diseases associated with female infertility or sub-fertility.
