EUEmory University · Biology
Velu Immunotherapy Lab
Vijayakumar Velu · Atlanta, Georgia
Research Focus
Dr. Vijayakumar Velu's lab focuses on innovative approaches to combat HIV, aiming to achieve sustained remission without lifelong treatments. The research combines immunotherapy with a new vaccination strategy to enhance the body's immune response against HIV. Using a monkey model, the lab investigates how different therapies can improve the function of immune cells that target the virus, potentially leading to a cure.
HIVSIVimmune therapyIL-15TGF-Beta blockadevaccinationlatency reversalcytokine therapyanti-viral immunityviral reservoirs
Research Aims
4AIM 01Evaluate the therapeutic potential of IL-15 therapy for HIV remission.
AIM 02Test the effects of combined IL-15 and TGF-Beta blockade on immune cell function.
AIM 03Investigate how therapies impact viral reservoirs during chronic infection.
AIM 04Enhance the immune response to HIV through combined therapies and vaccination.
Skills the Lab Values
animal modelsimmunohistochemistryflow cytometryELISAcell cultureviral load testingPCRmacrophage activation assaysT cell functional assaysvaccine formulation
Output against the department
Publications163top 41% of dept.419th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations4.1kbottom 31% of dept.714th 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.