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Professor Ariberto Fassati
Professor of Cellular and Molecular Virology
About
In my lab, we study two pathogens that have a remarkable ability to evade the immune system, namely HIV-1 and the canine transmissible venereal tumour CTVT.
Research summary
We investigate druggable host factors that regulate HIV-1 latency with the aim of inducing long-term remission of HIV-1 infection. We use a variety of approaches such as chemical genetics, high through put screenings, gene expression analysis and 3D chromatin analysis precisely to understand the mechanisms by which the druggable host factors influence HIV-1 latency.
We also have a long-standing interest in CTVT, one of three clonally transmissible allogeneic cancers in nature. We study the interactions between this tumour and the host immune system and how tolerance to CTVT is broken, leading to its regression. We investigate how cancer can evolve to bypass the histocompatibility barrier. Here, the aim is to develop new tools to minimize allotransplant rejection.