HIV Immunovirology Section
Tae-Wook Chun, Ph.D.
Chief, HIV Immunovirology Section
Major Areas of Research
- Persistence of viral reservoirs in people with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy.
- Immunologic control of viral replication and viral dynamics in people with HIV.
- Evaluation of therapeutic strategies aimed at achieving sustained virologic control in people with HIV in the absence of antiretroviral therapy.
- Development of novel treatments for people with HIV who harbor multidrug- or pan-resistant viruses and have limited clinical options
Program Description
Our research program focuses on 1) delineating the role of viral reservoirs in the pathogenesis of HIV disease; 2) examining host and viral factors that contribute to the maintenance of HIV reservoirs; 3) evaluating therapeutic strategies aimed at achieving durable virologic control in people with HIV in the absence of antiretroviral therapy; and 4) developing antiretroviral therapies for treating people harboring multidrug-resistant HIV. We employ a bench-to-bedside approach, conducting comprehensive genetic, immunologic, and virologic analyses of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells across diverse cohorts of people with HIV. Our goal is to address fundamental questions related to pathogenesis, including elucidating the mechanisms of viral persistence, understanding the role of the host immunity in controlling viral replication, and evaluating promising novel therapeutic agents in both ex vivo and in vivo settings.
Building on insights from our bench research, we also conduct phase I clinical trials in close collaboration with the NIAID HIV clinic. Our overarching goal is to develop safe, effective, and scalable therapeutic strategies that enable people with HIV to control viral replication without the need for daily antiretroviral therapy.
Biography
Education
Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Dr. Chun received his Ph.D. from the Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology Graduate Program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he was the first to discover latently infected CD4+ T cells-now recognized as a major obstacle to viral eradication in people with HIV. In 1997, he joined the Laboratory of Immunoregulation at NIAID as a postdoctoral research fellow to pursue his studies on viral persistence in people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy. In 2001, Dr. Chun was appointed as a staff scientist, and in 2016, he became a tenure track investigator after being selected through the Trans-NIH Earl Stadtman Tenure-Track Program. Dr. Chun received full tenure in 2020.
Clinical Studies
Selected Publications
Rai MA, Blazkova J, Kardava L, Justement JS, Shi V, Manning MR, Shahid A, Dong W, Kennedy BD, Sewack AB, Higgins J, Buckner CM, Gittens K, West RE 3rd, Devanathan AS, Mangusan R, Lurain K, Ramaswami R, Yarchoan R, Sneller MC, Pau AK, Brumme ZL, Moir S, Chun TW. Sustained virologic suppression of multidrug-resistant HIV in an individual treated with anti-CD4 domain 1 antibody and lenacapavir. Nat Med. 2025 Feb;31(2):427-432. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-03357-0. PMID: 39753965.
Manning MR, Blazkova J, Justement JS, Shi V, Kennedy BD, Rai MA, Seamon CA, Gittens K, Sneller MC, Moir S, Chun TW. Timing of antiretroviral therapy initiation affects intact HIV reservoirs following analytical treatment interruption. J Clin Invest. 2024 Oct 15;134(20):e181632. doi: 10.1172/JCI181632. PMID: 39403920.
Kennedy BD, Blazkova J, Justement JS, Shi V, Rai MA, Manning MR, Praiss L, Gittens K, Wender PA, Patro S, Wu X, Moir S, Chun TW. Comprehensive analysis of HIV reservoirs in elite controllers. J Clin Invest. 2023 Feb 1;133(3):e165446. doi: 10.1172/JCI165446. PMID: 36719383.
Sneller MC, Blazkova J, Justement JS, Shi V, Kennedy BD, Gittens K, Tolstenko J, McCormack G, Whitehead EJ, Schneck RF, Proschan MA, Benko E, Kovacs C, Oguz C, Seaman MS, Caskey M, Nussenzweig MC, Fauci AS, Moir S, Chun TW. Combination anti-HIV antibodies provide sustained virological suppression. Nature. 2022 Jun;606(7913):375-381. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04797-9PMID: 3565043.
Gaebler C, Nogueira L, Stoffel E, Oliveira TY, Breton G, Millard KG, Turroja M, Butler A, Ramos V, Seaman MS, Reeves JD, Petroupoulos CJ, Shimeliovich I, Gazumyan A, Jiang CS, Jilg N, Scheid JF, Gandhi R, Walker BD, Sneller MC, Fauci A, Chun TW, Caskey M, Nussenzweig MC. Prolonged viral suppression with anti-HIV-1 antibody therapy. Nature. 2022 Jun;606(7913):368-374. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04597-1. PMID: 35418681.
Blazkova J, Gao F, Marichannegowda MH, Justement JS, Shi V, Whitehead EJ, Schneck RF, Huiting ED, Gittens K, Cottrell M, Benko E, Kovacs C, Lack J, Sneller MC, Moir S, Fauci AS, Chun TW. Distinct mechanisms of long-term virologic control in two HIV-infected individuals after treatment interruption of anti-retroviral therapy. Nat Med. 2021 Nov;27(11):1893-1898. doi: 10.1038/s41591-021-01503-6. PMID: 34711975.
Research Group
We study persistence of viral reservoirs in HIV-infected individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy; viral dynamics and immunologic control of HIV replication in infected individuals; development of therapeutic strategies aimed at achieving sustained virologic control in HIV-infected individuals in the absence of antiretroviral therapy.