Nicole Doria-Rose, Ph.D.

The aims of AIMS are:

• To understand pathways of HIV broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb) development and co-evolution with virus
• To design and test HIV Vaccines inspired by antibody-virus co-evolution studies
• To discover and characterize new HIV bNAbs with potential clinical use

Neutralizing antibodies, which block virus infection, are critical components of effective immune responses and the correlate of protection for many licensed vaccines. Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) against HIV are able to recognize diverse HIV strains from around the world; eliciting bNAbs will be a crucial function of a protective vaccine. While no candidate HIV vaccine has yet succeeded in eliciting bNAbs, a fraction of people living with HIV develop them naturally. We are studying these cases to understand the way the bNAbs target HIV and how they develop over time. We previously showed that viral escape mutants drive the development of breadth in antibodies targeting the apex of the HIV Envelope protein (the viral “spike”), and identified key early changes in bNAbs targeting the HIV Env membrane-proximal external region. Work continues to understand virus-antibody co-evolution for these and other targets on HIV Env. These studies provide a blueprint for vaccine design as we strive to elicit bNAbs. Along the way, we are identifying highly potent bNAbs that may be useful as drugs for HIV prevention, treatment, and cure.

Nicole Doria-Rose earned her PhD from Cornell University in 1998, studying retrovirus assembly. She then trained in HIV immunology during her post-doctoral work at the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute. In 2006 she joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and became a Staff Scientist at the Vaccine Research Center in 2011. She is now Chief of the Antibody Immunity Section and an Earl Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator at the VRC.

Dr. Doria-Rose has led pioneering research on the interplay of evolving virus populations and maturing antibody responses in people living with HIV. This work has provided templates for vaccine candidates and led to the development of monoclonal antibodies that have been tested in clinical trials for HIV prevention. Her contributions have earned her multiple NIH Director's Awards and NIAID Merit Awards.