Yale University · NeuroscienceSpudich Neurohealth Lab
Serena S Spudich · New Haven, Connecticut
Research Focus
The research lab led by Dr. Serena Spudich focuses on understanding how HIV affects the central nervous system (CNS) and contributes to cognitive and mental health issues in individuals living with HIV. They use advanced techniques to study HIV persistence in the brain, particularly in individuals on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and investigate how the immune response and viral characteristics relate to neuropsychiatric outcomes. This work aims to uncover new therapies that can enhance mental health for people living with HIV.
HIVcentral nervous systemcognitive functionneuropsychiatric healthviral persistence
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate how HIV persists in the CNS despite ART.
AIM 02Characterize immune responses in cerebrospinal fluid of HIV-positive individuals.
AIM 03Examine the relationship between HIV and cognitive impairment in people living with HIV.
AIM 04Identify unique immune cell types associated with neuropsychiatric conditions.
AIM 05Develop targeted therapies to improve mental health in individuals with CNS HIV.
Skills the Lab Values
single cell transcriptomicslumbar puncture techniquesHIV DNA quantificationcytokine profilingmolecular characterizationgenome sequencingflow cytometrycell sortingdata analysisclinical trial methodology
Output against the department
Publications255top 28% of dept.188th of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations13ktop 31% of dept.209th of 671
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.