Research Contributions

 

Moretti, S., Virtuoso, S., Sernicola, L., Farcomeni, S., Maggiorella, M. T., & Borsetti, A. (2021, August 12). Advances in SIV/Shiv non-human primate models of neuroaids. MDPI. Retrieved March 11, 2023, from https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/8/1018  

Dr. Williams researches the neurobiology of disease with a specific focus on HIV treatment. They examine how HIV in the brain is impacted by drug and antiviral therapies that contribute to neurologic dysfunction. The brain is one of the hardest organs to treat because it becomes infected very quickly after exposure and is isolated from the rest of the body, as a result of the blood-brain barrier. It is harder for antiviral therapies to enter the brain and be effective (Dionna Whitney Williams, Ph.d., assistant professor of molecular and comparative pathobiology). Dr. Williams' lab focuses on identifying receptors that transport antiviral therapies across the blood-brain barrier, analyzing the penetrance of antiviral therapies in specific regions of the brain, and examining the efficacy of antiviral therapies in brain cells like microglia and astrocytes that are susceptible to HIV infection (Dionna Whitney Williams, Ph.d., assistant professor of molecular and comparative pathobiology). There is an emphasis on how the combination of antiviral therapies, HIV infection, and drug abuse leads to neurologic dysfunction such as mood disorders, a neurologic disorder or cognitive dysfunction (“Dionna W. Williams - The Solomon H Snyder Department of Neuroscience”). Some of her current projects include antiretroviral therapy extravasation across the blood-brain barrier and spatiotemporal localization of antiretroviral therapies in the brain (“Dionna W. Williams - The Solomon H Snyder Department of  

Osborne, O., Peyravian, N., Nair, M., Daunert, S., & Toborek, M. (2020, July 15). The paradox of HIV blood–brain barrier penetrance and antiretroviral drug delivery deficiencies. Trends in Neurosciences. Retrieved March 11, 2023, from https://www.cell.com/trends/neurosciences/fulltext/S0166-2236%2820%2930149-1