University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus · BiologyHIV Vaccine Development Lab
Swaminathan Smita Iyer · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Research Focus
Dr. Swaminathan Smita Iyer's lab focuses on developing innovative HIV vaccines that enhance the immune response to provide long-lasting protection against the virus. The research specifically investigates CD4 T follicular helper cells, which play a crucial role in stimulating B cells to produce antibodies. By experimenting with different vaccine platforms and adjuvants, the lab aims to improve the durability and effectiveness of HIV antibodies, contributing to the development of more effective vaccines.
HIV vaccineCD4 T folliclesimmunological memoryB cell activationadjuvants
Research Aims
5AIM 01Enhance Tfh1 cell differentiation to improve antibody durability.
AIM 02Evaluate long-term vaccine efficacy 20 weeks post-immunization.
AIM 03Analyze immune responses in blood and lymph nodes.
AIM 04Investigate the effects of different vaccine platforms on humoral immunity.
AIM 05Optimize vaccine design to elicit potent antibody responses against HIV.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturemouse modelsimmunology assaysRNA sequencingserological analysisflow cytometryPCRbiostatisticsbioinformatics
Output against the department
Publications102bottom 35% of dept.664th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations4.5kbottom 34% of dept.677th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.