Page 19 - RFCUNY Annual Report 2016

William H. Carr

Associate Professor, Department of Biology
Medgar Evers College

“While today HIV is manageable with medication, there
remain secondary health issues affecting HIV-infected
individuals,” Dr. Carr explains. For instance, women with
HIV are at greater risk for developing cervical cancer from
an HPV infection. Motivated to address this concern, Carr
applies his one-year, $50K NIH pilot award as part of the
Women’s Interagency HIV Study Program Grant at SUNY
Downstate Medical Center, The Role of Tim-3 on NK Cells
in the Pathogenesis of HPV and HIV-I Coinfection, towards
investigating the body’s immune reaction to HPV and the
role HIV plays in this immune response. Collaborating with
SUNY Downstate Medical Center and the Albert Einstein
Research Center, Carr analyzes cell samples from a group of
42 Brooklyn women to determine how molecular reactions in
immune cells either inhibit or contribute to the development
of cervical cancer. “Our goal in analyzing these cells is to
reduce the incidence of secondary infections for HIV infected
individuals, allowing them to live long, full lives.

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