Immaculate Nankja Graduate Student, Molecular Virology MB ChB, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda iln [at] cwru [dot] edu

Immaculate is studying the HIV-1 viral fitness and diversity in acute infection of subtypes A and D as well as C in women attending Family Planning Clinics from a Ugandan cohort as well as subtype C from a Zimbabwean cohort. She is also studying the HIV-1 fitness of subtypes A and D in a Ugandan cohort of anti-retroviral naive patients. She would like to compare intersubtype fitness as well as intra-patient fitness at and relate these to clinical progression and coreceptor usage. Additionally, she is comparing the viral fitness of both the propagated and pseudotyped viruses form a Belgian cohort. She is using the envelope region for pseudotyping because we know that the viral envelope controls HIV-1 entry into cells. When she gets time off from studying and working in the lab, Immaculate likes to spend her time going out and having fun.