Marla J. Keller, MDDr. Marla J. Keller, Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health, will join five new scientific members to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents (a working group of the Office of AIDS Research Council) starting in March 2014.
A fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), a member of the HIV Medical Association (HIVMA) and a Councilor of the Infectious Diseases Society of New York, Dr. Keller has a long-standing interest in the prevention and treatment of HIV infection in women. She leads a research program focused on early phase clinical trials to assess the safety of candidate vaginal microbicides, drugs in development to prevent the sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus, herpes simplex virus and human papillomavirus. Her studies also focus on defining the factors that contribute to innate mucosal immunity in the female genital tract of HIV-infected and uninfected US and African women. She has completed safety and pharmacokinetic studies of candidate microbicide gels (PRO 2000, Tenofovir, Dapivirine, Acidform), tablets (Tenofovir/Emtricitabine) and vaginal rings (Acyclovir) and tested laboratory assays, which may prove to serve as biomarkers predictive of microbicide safety and efficacy.
Dr. Keller is a co-investigator of the Bronx/Manhattan consortium of the NIH-funded Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), a multi-center, prospective cohort established in 1994 to investigate the impact of HIV infection on women in the United States. Her work in the WIHS focuses on genital mucosal immunity and HPV screening practices in HIV-infected and at-risk women.
Dr. Keller leads the Clinical Investigation Services Core and is Director of the Clinical Research Center, components of the Harold and Muriel Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Einstein and Montefiore, which is funded as an NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium member. She is also an active member of the Montefiore Einstein Center for AIDS Research.
The Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents is a Working Group of the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council (OARAC) of the National Institutes of Health. The Panel writes and updates the Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-1-Infected Adults and Adolescents, most recently published on February 12, 2013.
More info: aidsinfo.nih.gov/e-news/archive/2013/12/20