Welcome to our Web site, which describes a unique program of HIV studies at the University of Minnesota.  This program, initiated in 1996, is designed to answer fundamental questions about how HIV causes disease.

Our approach is to study specific parts of the human immune system, called lymphatic tissues or lymph nodes that come from people infected with HIV.  We obtain these lymph nodes before and during treatment with Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART, also called "the cocktail").

Our goal is to understand how HIV works in these lymphatic tissues, because lymph nodes are where HIV lives and replicates.  We believe that if we can more completely understand how HIV damages the function of lymphatic nodes (causing AIDS) this might translate into new and novel therapies that might stop or reverse lymph node damage.

The questions we are asking are:

• What genes are most important for trying to control the virus in lymph nodes?
• What changes occur in the function of lymph nodes when HIV is active and replicating in the lymph node?
• How does inflammation from HIV infection of the lymph node affect the ability of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) to restore immune function?
• How does damage to the lymph node from HIV infection prevent cells of the immune system from moving around the body to protect the person from infections?