The EMJ Podcast | Episode 230
This week, Jonathan welcomes Mark Connors to explore the advancements in HIV vaccine technology and the progress in global understanding of HIV since the 1980s, highlighting how these insights can inform approaches to other viruses.
Spotify | Apple | Amazon Music | Download MP3 (40:23 mins)
Mark Connors, Senior Investigator and Chief of the HIV-Specific Immunity Section at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has an impressive background, earning his MD from Temple University in Philadelphia before joining the NIH in 1989 to study the immune response to respiratory syncytial virus. Since then, he has dedicated his career to understanding immune responses in HIV, with his research making significant contributions to the field.
Connors leads pioneering studies in HIV immunology, particularly focusing on T cell responses and their role in controlling HIV. His groundbreaking work has been widely published, advancing our understanding of immune dynamics and helping shape new approaches in HIV treatment. More recently his lab has used this information to examine the components of vaccines that contribute to an effective immune response to HIV, influenza virus, or SARS-CoV-2.
- 00:00 Introduction
- 01:28 Mark’s perfect menu
- 03:23 Choosing immunology and HIV research
- 05:30 HIV in the early 80s
- 07:50 T cell responses in controlling HIV
- 13:45 HIV history lesson
- 20:50 Merging our understanding of HIV with cancer immunotherapy
- 23:12 Challenges and breakthroughs in HIV vaccine development
- 27:20 T cell mechanisms at the sub-cellular level – the key to immunotherapies?
- 29:25 Immune responses to other viruses
- 31:32 Origin of HIV
- 33:28 Mark’s three wishes for healthcare
