Location:
The Kirby Institute Level 6 Seminar Room Wallace Wurth Building UNSW Australia Sydney NSW 2052
Open to
All
Contact for enquiries
The Kirby Institute Reception 9385 0900
The Kirby Institute is pleased to present:
Samantha McAllery - "The feasibility of incorporating Vpx into gene therapy vectors"
Abstract:
In infected patients, HIV-1 persists life-long in certain long-lived immune cells, including resting CD4+ T cells, dendritic cells and macrophages. One major obstacle in effectively targeting the HIV-1 latent reservoir is the lack of gene delivery occurring within the cells using lentiviral gene therapy constructs.
Vpx, a viral protein from the SIVSM/HIV-2 lineage, has the ability to overcome gene delivery in resting cells. Consequently, the incorporation of Vpx into lentiviral gene therapy vectors could have immense implications on gene delivery to the cells of the latent HIV-1 reservoir. For the first time this study aims to evaluate the feasibility of incorporating Vpx into a lentiviral gene therapy vector towards a HIV-1 cure.
Biography:
Samantha McAllery received her Bachelor of Science (Hons) from the University of Sydney in 2008. Currently she is a PhD candidate in the IVPP-HIV Biology program under the supervision of Dr. Stuart Turville and Dr. Chantelle Ahlenstiel. Her project involves investigating the viral protein Vpx in the context of gene therapy.