Richard Frothingham, MD
Associate Professor — Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
Director — Global Health Research Building

We are developing vaccines with the broad goal of protecting persons with HIV infection from opportunistic infections and malignancies. Since HIV infection leads to progressive CD4 loss, we direct our vaccines toward the induction of memory CD8 cells. We developed a murine model for Mycobacterium avium infection. This bacterium is related to M. tuberculosis and is a common cause of disseminated infections in AIDS patients. Two DNA vaccines which we developed provide partial protection in the mouse model. We are currently using novel vaccine methods to induce broad CD8 responses which will persist after CD4 cell loss. We are testing these vaccines in mice with acquired CD4 depletion, a model for the immune suppression caused by AIDS in humans. Results of this research may also lead to vaccines to protect AIDS patients from M. avium, M. tuberculosis, and other opportunistic infections and malignancies.