Arpan Acharya, PhD
Research Interests
My research focuses on (a) understanding the molecular mechanism of host-pathogen interaction to develop therapeutic strategies against emerging and re-emerging viral diseases; (b) developing novel assays and tools to identify the location of the anatomical sanctuaries where HIV reservoirs persist and from where the virus rebounds to periphery upon cessation of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART); (c) using nonhuman primate models that mimic the biology of HIV infection to understand the role of the substance of abuse in seeding and maintenance of HIV reservoirs.
Ongoing Projects
Understanding the role of substance use in HIV/SIV reservoirs
Substance use disorder (SUD) has been recognized as a prominent comorbidity in HIV-infected populations. The overall goal of this project is to understand the impact of SUD on HIV reservoir dynamics. We use non-human primate model of HIV infection to explore the molecular mechanism of HIV reservoir seeding and maintenance in presence of different substance of abuse.
Impact of HIV/SARS-CoV-2 co-infection
The overall goal of the project is to understand the implications of COVID-19 on neuro-AIDS. We are interested to understand the pathophysiology of HIV/SARS-CoV-2 co-infection in the central nervous system. We will utilize a system biology approach that includes proteomic and transcriptomic analysis of HIV/SARS-CoV-2 co-infected cells from CNS.
- PhD in Biotechnology, Pune, India, 2016
- World Society for Virology
- Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology
- 2021: New Investigator Award at 28th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections 2021, USA.
- 2020: Postdoctoral Excellence in Research Award (runner-up) at University of Nebraska Medical Center.
- 2020: Early Career Investigator Travel Award (ECITA) to attend the 26th Annual Meeting of the Society on Neuroimmune Pharmacology (SNIP) in New Delhi, India.
- 2019: Young Investigator Award at 37th Annual Symposium on Nonhuman Primate Models for AIDS (NHP) San Antonio, Texas.
- 2019: Silver “U” Award at UNMC Chancellor’s councils in recognition of dedication and commitment to the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
- Singh K, Byrareddy SN, Acharya A. Discovery of COVID-19 causing entry inhibitors. USPTO 63/200,366 (Provisional). 2021 March 03.
- Byrareddy SN, Acharya A. A Single Cell-Based HIV Reservoir Quantification Assay. USPTO 63118137 (Provisional). 2020 November 03.
- Mukhopadhyaya P, Acharya A, Kulkarni K, Vaniawala S, Parekh H, inventors. Wobble Base Bioresearch Private Limited, assignee. Detection of pathogens using a chemically treated card. India 201621024943. 2018 January 26.
- Mukhopadhyaya P, Acharya A, Kulkarni K, Vaniawala S, Parekh H, inventors. Wobble Base Bioresearch Private Limited, assignee. Punching device. India 201621030883. 2018 March 16.