Fred Hutch and SCCA Campus

Our Research

The Cohn Lab studies latent HIV infection. Our work analyzes the biology of reservoirs of HIV-infected CD4+ T cells that quietly persist despite continuous antiretroviral therapy. Because these cells proliferate and can start producing new virus in the absence of such drugs, there is no cure yet for HIV. We use advanced techniques to understand the various mechanisms that cause populations of latently infected cells to expand and reactivate, in hopes of finding ways to stop that process permanently and effectively cure the disease.

Interested in working with us? Please send a CV and statement of your research interests to Lillian Cohn (lcohn@fredhutch.org).

Contact Us

Recent Publications

Mendoza P, Jackson JR, Oliveira TY, Gaebler C, Ramos V, Caskey M, Jankovic M, Nussenzweig MC, Cohn LB. Antigen-responsive CD4+ T cell clones contribute to the HIV-1 latent reservoir. J Exp Med. 2020 Jul 6;217(7)PubMed PMID: 32311008.

Cohn LB, Chomont N, Deeks SG. The Biology of the HIV-1 Latent Reservoir and Implications for Cure Strategies. Cell Host Microbe. 2020 Apr 8;27(4):519-530. PubMed PMID: 32272077; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7219958.

Cohn LB, da Silva IT, Valieris R, Huang AS, Lorenzi JCC, Cohen YZ, Pai JA, Butler AL, Caskey M, Jankovic M, Nussenzweig MC. Clonal CD4+ T cells in the HIV-1 latent reservoir display a distinct gene profile upon reactivation. Nat Med. 2018 May;24(5):604-609. PubMed PMID: 29686423; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5972543.

Cohn LB, Silva IT, Oliveira TY, Rosales RA, Parrish EH, Learn GH, Hahn BH, Czartoski JL, McElrath MJ, Lehmann C, Klein F, Caskey M, Walker BD, Siliciano JD, Siliciano RF, Jankovic M, Nussenzweig MC. HIV-1 integration landscape during latent and active infection. Cell. 2015 Jan 29;160(3):420-32. PubMed PMID: 25635456; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4371550.