Cota-Gomez Lab

Research in the Cota-Gomez lab focuses on how chronic HIV infection drives non-infectious pulmonary vascular disease. We hypothesize that viral and host factors contribute to pulmonary vascular disease by perpetuating sustained pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidant conditions. We focus on the molecular mechanisms whereby host factors, such as cytokines and chemokines, and viral factors, such as the viral protein Tat, drive cellular pathogenic pathways in the pulmonary vasculature. We address our molecular hypotheses using cellular and animal models and confirm our results with tissue and cellular biospecimens from patients.