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Transmission - Model systems

Brandon F. Keele, PhD, is a senior scientist in the AIDS and Cancer Virus Program at SAIC-Frederick at the National Cancer Institute. He currently heads the Viral Evolution and Genomics Core and is studying viral transmission and viral evolution in HIV infected humans and SIV infected macaques. Dr. Keele has recently discovered that the vast majority of HIV-1 infections occur due to a single founder virus. Currently he is utilizing a non-human primate model to identify the

molecular basis for the genetic bottleneck at transmission and mechanisms to prevent infection. Prior to working at NCI, Dr. Keele worked at the University of Alabama at Birmingham first as a post-doctoral fellow and then as a Assistant Professor. Dr. Keele was the lead author describing the geographic origins of pandemic HIV-1. Recently, Dr. Keele and colleagues discovered that SIV infecting chimpanzees was pathogenic and can lead to significant population decline. Dr. Keele utilizes single genome amplification (SGA) and deep sequencing approaches to identify minor changes in viral populations. Additionally, Dr. Keele has recently pioneered a innovative approach to isolate and sequence viral RNA and DNA directly from HIV/SIV infected tissue as well as from individual cells/sections that are isolated by laser capture microdissection.