Microbiology and Immunology Graduate Program
BS, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics
Harokopeio University of Athens, Greece (2000)
MS, Department of Nutrition
University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA (2003)

Email: aikaterini.alexaki@drexel.edu

Advisor: Dr. Brian Wigdahl
 
Thesis Research Summary

I completed my undergraduate studies in Greece in the Department on Nutrition and Dietetics at Harokopeio University of Athens. I got my Master of Science at the University of Massachusetts in the Department of Nutrition. The research I was involved in, both during my undergraduate and Master's studies, was focused on nutritional immunology.

Currently, I am working with Dr. Wigdahl on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) neuropathogenesis. Specifically, my project involves developing a model to study the trafficking of virus from the bone marrow to the brain. Cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage arise from CD34-positive progenitor cells that are resistant to HIV-1 infection. However, as these cells differentiate, they become more susceptible to HIV-1 and may be able to carry the virus though the blood-brain barrier, spread the virus to the brain, and cause HIV-1 neuropathogenesis. Furthermore, I am exploring the effect that certain mutations on the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) have on the transcriptional regulation of the virus within these cells throughout their differentiation and trafficking pathways.