Focus on Research
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The USF Health Institute for Translational Virology and Innovation (ITVI) conducts foundational science to uncover how viruses and bacteria drive cancer, chronic disease, and immune dysfunction. Active research spans HIV, HTLV-1, microbial oncogenesis, and HIV molecular biology, with growing programs focused on HPV, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), hepatitis viruses, respiratory pathogens, and arboviruses such as dengue and Zika.
The Institute emphasizes cross-disciplinary collaboration, cutting-edge molecular research, and translation of findings into diagnostics, treatments, and public health interventions.
Currently Active Research Units
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- Leads: Dr. Davide Zella (Associate Professor and Director of the Bacterial Oncogenesis Unit), Dr. Francesca Benedetti (Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the Bacterial Oncogenesis Unit)
- Focus: Investigating how specific bacteria promote cancer and reproductive dysfunction through inflammation, immune modulation, and altered cellular signaling
- Collaborators: Dr. Robert Gallo, Dr. Christian Brechot, Dr. Eduardo Sotomayor
- Research Team: Camila Summers, (Research Scientist), Faith Robinson, undergraduate student
- Leads: Dr. Davide Zella (Associate Professor and Director of the Bacterial Oncogenesis Unit), Dr. Francesca Benedetti (Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the Bacterial Oncogenesis Unit)
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- Lead: Dr. J. Zachary Porterfield
- Theme: Reducing HIV-Associated Comorbidities and Advancing Toward a Functional Cure
- Focus: Understanding HIV’s contribution to chronic inflammation, immune dysfunction, and cancer risk; Integrating clinical and molecular research; Supporting clinical trials for viral infections
- Collaborators: From ITVI: Dr. Robert C. Gallo, Dr. Yutaka Tagaya, Dr. Hongshuo Song; From University of South Florida Division of Infectious Disease: Dr. Kami Kim, Dr. Charurut Somboonwit, Dr. Jacqueline Sherbuk, Dr. Ana Velez, MD; From Africa Health Research Institute: Dr. Henrik Kloverpris; From University of KwaZulu-Natal: Dr. Andile Sibiya and Dr. Warren Kuhn; From Ragon Institute of MIT and Harvard University; Dr. Mathias Lichterfeld; From Seattle Children’s / University of Washington, Dr. Noah Sather, PhD; From Oxford University, Dr. Philip Goulder
- Research Team: Danielle Curtis, MPH (Unit Manager), Derek Jacobs, MD PhD (Graduate Student), and Lily Pohlenz (PhD Graduate Student)
- Lead: Dr. J. Zachary Porterfield
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- Theme: HIV molecular virology, HIV transmission fitness, and immunopathogenesis; Molecular mechanisms for HIV-related cancer.
- Focus: We focus on the fundamental aspects of HIV-1 transmissibility, immunopathogenesis, and persistence. Our long-term goal is to translate knowledge into approaches toward effective HIV prevention and functional cure.
- Collaborators: Dr. Robert C. Gallo, Dr. Charurut Somboonwit, US Military HIV Research Program, Vaccine Research Center (NIH), Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Research Team: Dr. Abdur Rashid, (postdoctoral fellow), Georgina Agyekum, (PhD student), Cinthya Zelaya Aparicio, (research assistant), Hexiang Wang, (research assistant)
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- Lead: Dr. Michael N. Teng (Associate Professor, Director of Virology Education and Assistant Director of ITVI)
- Theme: Viral innate immune evasion mechanisms
- Focus: Our laboratory studies host-virus interactions in viral pathogenesis. In particular, we are interested in how viral proteins affect host signal transduction pathways to enhance viral replication. Our research focuses on the role of the nonstructural proteins of respiratory syncytial virus and their effect on host innate antiviral responses.
- Collaborators: Dr. Reena Ghildyal (University of Canberra), Dr. Santanu Bose (Washington State University), Dr. Biao He (University of Georgia), Dr. Jennifer Binning (Moffitt Cancer Center), Dr. Bill Baker (USF, Chemistry)
- Research Team: Kim Tran (Research Biologist)
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- Theme: Viral Persistence and T-Cell Transformation
- Focus: Exploring HTLV-1 mechanisms of infection and its role in adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) + T cell immunity in graft-versus-host disease
- Collaborators: Dr. Robert C. Gallo, Dr. Eduardo Sotomayor
- Research Team: Nathan Fisher, (summer student)
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- Lead: Dr. Eleni Markoutsa (Assistant Professor)
- Theme: Infectious Diseases and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Cellular Senescence, Nanomedicine
- Focus: Our current research focuses on the role of viral infections in the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Our findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection increases the senescent cell burden and heightens the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. We aim to elucidate the mechanisms by which viral infections trigger cellular senescence and to develop extracellular vesicle-based interventions to mitigate the effects of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype on the aging brain.
- Collaborator: Dr. Shyam Mohapatra
- Research Team: Sai Shilpa Jajula (Graduate Student), Nandita Patil (Graduate Student)
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- Supervisor: Dr. Yutaka Tagaya (Assistant Professor, Director of Laboratory Operations)
- Capability: Scope9-color BD Melody machine in the BSL3, for cell sorting of infectious cells (e.g., HIV, HTLV-1, HBV/HCV, SARS-COV2) for USF Tampa campus
- Supervisor: Dr. Yutaka Tagaya (Assistant Professor, Director of Laboratory Operations)
Planned and Expanding Research Areas
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- Planned Unit
- Focus: HPV-associated malignancies and immune mechanisms of viral persistence
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- Planned Unit
- Focus: EBV-driven cancers such as lymphomas and nasopharyngeal carcinoma; identifying latent gene expression patterns and therapeutic targets
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- Planned Unit
- Focus: Studying mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya with a special emphasis on Florida and Latin America; integrating vector surveillance, viral genomics, and outbreak modeling
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