Alan Landay, PhD

Alan Landay PhD is Professor in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Microbial Pathogens and Immunity and is Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Internal Medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.  He has been involved in HIV research for over 40 years having performed some of the first immune evaluations of HIV infected hemophiliacs in 1981 while completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. He collaborated with Abbott Labs in 1983 in helping develop the first HIV antibody test that was licensed by the FDA in 1985 for use in screening the blood supply. His laboratory has made important original contributions in understanding the role of immune activation and inflammation in outcomes of non-communicable disease related to aging in the HIV population. Dr. Landay has been an investigator with the ACTG for over 30 years and has led the Rush Immunology Support Lab since its inception for 20 years. Dr. Landay has provided leadership to the ACTG Network labs as the Scientific Director of Laboratories and Chair of the Network Laboratory Steering Committee. In this role, he works with the domestic and international laboratories in integrating their work with the agendas of the Transformative Science Groups. Dr. Landay also provides laboratory leadership for ACTG protocol development and implementation as an ad hoc member of the Scientific Agenda Steering Committee (SASC). In this role, he provides input on the scientific rationale for laboratory assays and the fiscal review of the assay cost. Dr. Landay provides leadership to the ACTG through committee and working group membership. He was the founder of the Therapeutic Vaccine Focus Group under the Cure Transformative Science Group (TSG). He serves as the consulting immunologist to the Cure TSG. He serves as the appointed immunologist to the Comorbidity TSG and is a member of the steering committee. He serves as a member of the Microbiome, HIV, and Aging, and NASH/NAFLD working groups under the Comorbidity TSG. He is Chair of the Senolytics Therapeutic Working Group under the Comorbidity TSG. He serves on the TB Vaccine Working Group under the TB TSG and the Broadly Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibody working group of the Antiretroviral Therapy Strategies (ARTS) TSG. For each of these working groups, Dr. Landay and the Rush ISL provide input on immunologic assays for protocols being implemented in the respective TSGs. He has extensive experience in aging related studies and is co-investigator of an R33 grant that integrates efforts of the Center for AIDS Research, Older American Independence Centers and Shock Centers. He has participated on the Office of AIDS Research HIV and Aging Committee and has been an advisor to UN AIDS on HIV and Aging. Over the past 10 years, his research focus has been on studies of the human microbiome and metabolome and better understanding its role both in health and disease, resulting in over 50 peer reviewed publications . He has led the Microbiome Working Group for the ACTG. He helped develop the first HIV and Microbiome meeting that was co- sponsored by the NIH Dr. Landay has published over 550 peer reviewed papers focused on basic and clinical studies of HIV with an emphasis on the role of immune activation, inflammation and microbiome in HIV pathogenesis, therapy aging .and cure research.