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

1) 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.

2) 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.

Publications

1. Acharya A, Pandey K, Thurman M, Klug E, Trivedi J, Lorson CL, Singh K, Byrareddy SN. Discovery and in-vitro evaluation of potent SARS-CoV-2 entry inhibitors. bioRxiv. 2021. Epub 2021/04/07. PubMed PMID: 33821265; PMCID: PMC8020965.
2. Acharya A, Pandey K, Thurman M, Challagundala KB, Vann KR, Kutateladze TG, Morales GA, Durden DL, Byrareddy SN. Blockade of SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro by highly potent PI3K-alpha/mTOR/BRD4 inhibitor. bioRxiv. 2021. Epub 2021/03/11. PubMed PMID: 33688653; PMCID: PMC7941624.
3. Fletcher CV, Dyavar SR, Acharya A, Byrareddy SN. The Contributions of Clinical Pharmacology to HIV Cure Research. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2021. Epub 2021/03/26. PubMed PMID: 33763860.
4. Patel RH, Acharya A, Chand HS, Mohan M, Byrareddy SN. Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Coinfection: A Systematic Review of the Literature and Challenges. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2021;37(4):266-82. Epub 2021/02/19. PubMed PMID: 33599163; PMCID: PMC8035919.
5. Acharya A, Olwenyi OA, Thurman M, Pandey K, Morsey BM, Lamberty B, Ferguson N, Callen S, Fang Q, Buch SJ, Fox HS, Byrareddy SN. Chronic morphine administration differentially modulates viral reservoirs in SIVmac251 infected rhesus macaque model. J Virol. 2020. Epub 2020/12/18. PubMed PMID: 33328304.
6. Acharya A, Kevadiya BD, Gendelman HE, Byrareddy SN. SARS-CoV-2 Infection Leads to Neurological Dysfunction. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2020 Jun;15(2):167-173. Epub 2020 May 23. PubMed PMID: 32447746.
7. Acharya A, Tagny CT, Mbanya D, Fonsah JY, Nchindap E, Kenmogne L, Jihyun M, Njamnshi AK, Kanmogne GD. Variability in HIV-1 Integrase Gene and 3'-Polypurine Tract Sequences in Cameroon Clinical Isolates, and Implications for Integrase Inhibitors Efficacy. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Feb 25;21(5). PubMed PMID: 32106437.
8. Olwenyi OA, Acharya A, Routhu NK, Pierzchalski K, Jones JW, Kane MA, Sidell N, Mohan M, Byrareddy SN. Retinoic Acid Improves the Recovery of Replication-Competent Virus from Latent SIV Infected Cells. Cells. 2020 Sep 11;9(9). PubMed PMID: 32932813.
9. Frank I, Acharya A, Routhu NK, Aravantinou M, Harper JL, Maldonado S, Sole Cigoli M, Semova S, Mazel S, Paiardini M, Derby N, Byrareddy SN, Martinelli E. A Tat/Rev Induced Limiting Dilution Assay to Measure Viral Reservoirs in Non-Human Primate Models of HIV Infection. Sci Rep. 2019 Aug 19;9(1):12078. PubMed PMID: 31427605.
10. Acharya A, Fonsah JY, Mbanya D, Njamnshi AK, Kanmogne GD. Near-Full-Length Genetic Characterization of a Novel HIV-1 Unique Recombinant with Similarities to A1, CRF01_AE, and CRFO2_AG Viruses in Yaounde, Cameroon. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2019;35(8):762-8. Epub 2019/03/13. PubMed PMID: 30860392.

Additional publications in PubMed.

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Dr. Arpan's biographical information.