Project for Research Experiences for Undergraduates
2012 Summer Program, June 11 - August 3, 2012
National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS)
at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Title: Modeling early evolution of human immunodeficiency virus
Mentors: Dr. Vitaly Ganusov (Microbiology), Dr. Calistus Ngonghala (Mathematics)
HIV establishes a life-long chronic infection in vast majority of infected individuals despite strong antiviral responses elicited by the host. High mutation rate of HIV is thought to be one explanation for the ability of the virus to avoid host's immune response yet whether the observed rates of mutation are sufficient to explain rapid appearance of viral variants escaping recognition by T cell immunity is unclear. During this project we will formulate models of HIV evolution and investigate the role of mutation and recombination in early diversification of HIV in patients.
Return to REU 2012.
