Keynote: Celestine Wanjalla, MD PhD
Spatial profiling of heart disease in PLWH
Celestine Wanjalla, MD PhD
Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Dr. Celestine Wanjalla, MD PhD, is an Assistant professor and physician-scientist in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Clinically, she cares for people living with HIV at the Comprehensive Care Clinic. The goal of her research is to understand the role of virus-specific immune cells and molecular mechanisms that promote atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease progression in people living with HIV. She earned her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences with a distinction in research from Cornell University, worked as a research assistant at Columbia University in the Division of Pharmacology, completed her MD and PhD in Immunology and Microbial pathogenesis at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Internal Medicine, and Infectious Diseases training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as a Harrison Scholar. Her long-term goal is to define innate and adaptive immune markers that can improve the diagnosis, identify novel therapeutic targets and improve clinical outcomes. She is a recipient of a K23 from NHLBI, the Career Awards for Medical Scientists (CAMS) from Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Development Award, and a Gilead HIV Scholar.
ESI Presentation: Matt Durstenfeld, MD, MAS
Excess Cardiovascular Risk in HIV: Chronotropic Incompetence as a Clue?
Matthew S. Durstenfeld, MD, MAS, FACC
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Division of Cardiology at Zuckerberg San Francisco General
University of California, San Francisco
Matt Durstenfeld is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and a general cardiologist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General. His research focuses on preventing and managing infection-associated cardiovascular disease; his other interests are in global cardiology, health equity, and advanced methods for robust observational research. As a team scientist, he loves working closely with mentors and collaborators from Cardiology, Infectious Diseases, and Pulmonology. He recently completed his K12 career development award focused on mechanisms of cardiopulmonary phenotype Long COVID. His K23 Career Development Award is focused on cardiorespiratory fitness in HIV. He is also involved in clinical trials of lipid-lowering therapies in HIV, an immune-modulator for Long COVID, an over-encapsulated polypill for heart failure, cardiac rehabilitation for Long COVID, and a first-in-human COVID vaccine. He also conducts observational research on strategies to prevent atherosclerosis in HIV and the effect of HIV on post-tuberculosis heart and lung disease in Uganda. Since joining faculty less than four years ago, he has published about 40 papers, with nearly half first or last author. He was recently recognized with the ZSFG Department of Medicine Outstanding Early Career Investigator Award.
Special Make Up Presentation 11:00-11:45AM PT
Understanding the AIDS Epidemic through four decades of Longitudinal Observational Data: The MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study
Igho Ofotokun, MD, MSc
Associate Dean, Research Development
Grady Distinguished Professor of Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
After the January seminar, from 11:00-11:45AM, we will have Dr. Igho Ofotokun repeat his presentation which was cut short during the November CFAR Seminar due to technical problems.