Michael Farzan, PhD

Dr. Michael Farzan has worked in the HIV entry field for more than two decades. His work in close collaboration with the laboratory of Dr. Hyeyrun Choe include discovery of CCR5 sulfotyrosines and their critical role in HIV-1 entry, discovery of functionally important sulfotyrosines on HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies, identification of the cellular receptors for the SARS coronavirus and for New World hemorrhagic fever arenaviruses, discovery of IFITM-family proteins critical to the innate immune control of virus, and invention of eCD4-Ig, a very broad and potent HIV-1 entry inhibitor. His laboratory is strongly committed to the use of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors as a tool for preventing new HIV-1 transmission, suppressing established infections, and ultimately eliminating the viral reservoir.