The Brockman laboratory uses molecular and cellular biology approaches to investigate questions at the interface of virology, pathogenesis, and the host immune response to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Current studies focus on understanding the impact of HIV immune escape mutations on cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) recognition and on viral protein function; measuring the ability of T cell receptors (TCR) to recognize HIV-infected cell targets; and assessing the relevance of viral tropism and cellular compartmentalization on disease progression. The laboratory has developed in vitro strategies to examine HIV protein function and host T cell activity, allowing unique population-level analyses of this epidemic that may assist in the development of a vaccine against HIV/AIDS
