University of Florida · BiologyAndrews Lab
Allison Michelle Andrews · Gainesville, Florida
Research Focus
Dr. Allison Michelle Andrews' lab focuses on understanding the intersection of synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyls, and HIV, especially in the brain. Researchers investigate how fentanyls affect the blood-brain barrier and contribute to HIV replication, while also developing innovative imaging techniques to study HIV reservoirs in the central nervous system (CNS). The aim is to better comprehend how these factors interact and impact health, especially for people living with HIV.
HIVfentanylblood-brain barrierneuroHIVsynthetic opioidsCNS imagingreservoirsneuroinflammationmicroglia
Research Aims
4AIM 01Examine the effects of synthetic fentanyls on the blood-brain barrier integrity and function.
AIM 02Investigate how synthetic fentanyls influence HIV infection in microglial cells.
AIM 03Develop advanced imaging methodologies to identify and quantify HIV reservoirs in the central nervous system.
AIM 04Assess the impact of chronic opioid exposure on the establishment of HIV reservoirs.
Skills the Lab Values
microfluidicstissue engineeringimmunostainingoptical clearing techniques3D imagingcell cultureanimal modelsmolecular biology techniquesdata analysis
Output against the department
Publications45bottom 10% of dept.933rd of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations1.8kbottom 12% of dept.913th 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.