Karissa Lozenski

Microbiology and Immunology Graduate Program
BS – Biology
Dickinson College

Advisor: Dr. Fred Krebs

Thesis Research Summary

As an undergraduate, I attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, where I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. While at Dickinson College, I became involved in a research project which helped me to decide that research would be the focus of my continuing education. After graduating from Dickinson, I worked in a Chemistry Research and Development laboratory where I was involved in the development of new product processes, which were then moved to full-size industrial production. I am now a second year graduate student.

My research focuses on the development of agents that can be used to prevent the spread of HIV-1. The current HIV/AIDS pandemic is driven increasingly by the transmission of the virus during heterosexual intercourse. Because of gender-specific differences in anatomy and physiology, women are at greater risk than men for contracting HIV-1 during unprotected sex. Although the use of condoms can decrease the risk of infection, women are often unable to negotiate their use with the male partner. In response to the urgent need for female-controlled preventative measures, researchers around the world are focused on the development of microbicides, which are compounds that can be applied topically before sexual intercourse in order to reduce or eliminate the risk of HIV-1 transmission. Projections regarding the impact of microbicides on the HIV/AIDS epidemic indicate that microbicide-related reductions in the risk of HIV-1 transmission could prevent millions of deaths among women at risk for infection.

My thesis project will address two specific aspects of our current pre-clinical microbicide development program. First, experiments will be performed to develop, characterize, and evaluate formulations used as vehicles for our candidate microbicidal compounds. Initial in vitro experiments will determine the effects of compound formulation on both cytotoxicity and antiviral activity. Second, candidate compounds will be assessed in vivo in the mouse model of microbicide toxicity. This small animal model uses the Swiss Webster mouse to determine the effect of both unformulated and formulated microbicidal compounds on cervicovaginal integrity and inflammation. This model system can be used to predict the safety of agents and formulations during future clinical trials.