University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus · Microbiology & ImmunologyHIV Resistance Research Lab
Zandrea Ambrose · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Research Focus
Dr. Zandrea Ambrose's lab at the University of Pittsburgh focuses on understanding how HIV-1, the virus responsible for AIDS, develops resistance to a new type of antiviral drug called lenacapavir. By studying these resistance pathways both in test tubes and in specially designed mouse models, the lab aims to uncover how these resistant viruses may impact treatment and prevention strategies. This research is crucial for improving HIV therapies and understanding how drug resistance can affect public health.
HIV-1drug resistancecapsid inhibitorsviral fitnesstransmission dynamics
Research Aims
5AIM 01Elucidate how HIV-1 acquires increased resistance to lenacapavir.
AIM 02Map the drug resistance pathways through accelerated in vitro evolution.
AIM 03Assess the transmissibility of LEN-resistant variants using humanized mouse models.
AIM 04Determine the impact of capsid mutations on viral fitness.
AIM 05Investigate the implications of resistance pathways for future treatment and prevention strategies.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturein vitro evolutionhumanized mouse modelshigh-throughput phenotypic assaysmutant library design
Output against the department
Publications83bottom 27% of dept.353rd of 486
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations2.3kbottom 14% of dept.416th of 486
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.