A major problem in treating AIDS is that HIV constantly mutates to create new drug and immune-resistant forms of the virus. We want to understand how HIV mutates and how this process affects disease progression. HIV is a highly variable virus that continuously mutates during the course of infection. We have shown that the virus naturally mutates every time it multiplies. Our goals are to understand how this occurs and to identify the means for slowing the mutation process, slowing disease progression, and increasing the effectiveness of antiviral therapies.
Cancer cells accumulate multiple mutations as they regress to malignancy.
We are studying the origins of these cancer-causing mutations. Our goals are to understand the basis of mutation in precancerous cells and to thereby identify new susceptibility g enes in cancer-prone families. These diseases are particularly alarming since their incidences are increasing and therapies are largely ineffective. Our research focuses on understanding the underlying causes of these diseases. In the laboratory, we study the molecular and biochemical mechanisms governing genomic replication.