A doctoral student in the laboratory of Phyllis Kanki, a professor in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, may be on the path of characterizing a newly recognized form of HIV.

Seema Thakore is analyzing the DNA of HIV extracted from the cells of commercial sex workers in Senegal. The sex workers are part of the longest-standing AIDS study in Africa, established in 1985 by Kanki, Max Essex, chair of the Harvard AIDS Institute (HAI) and scientists from HAI, the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, and two universities in France. Kanki has been credited with helping to discover HIV-2 and researching its biology in the study’s participants.

Preliminary data indicate there may be a new form of HIV emerging in the sex workers group. There are many subtypes of HIV around the world, roughly distributed geographically. Subtype B, for example, is the most common form in North America and Western Europe. In the Senegalese study, the "AG recombinant" subtype is most prevalent, but Thakore is looking at a possible "sub-subtype," tentatively called A3.

"We’re trying to tease out exactly what’s going on here," said Thakore. "Our first step is to see if we actually have a new sub-subtype and, if so, figure out what is biologically interesting about it, such as how quickly does it progress to AIDS and how high do the viral loads in the bloodstream tend to be."

This is not the first time that Thakore has researched AIDS, but her previous work was not lab-related. As a master’s degree student at Yale University, she and a fellow student conducted a survey of AIDS knowledge among homeless people in New Haven, CT. Thakore visited a homeless shelter and administered a questionnaire she had helped to develop.

She uncovered a glaring lack of understanding among the respondents of their personal risk for getting HIV and the ways in which the virus spreads. Some people believed AIDS was transmitted by mosquitoes or by sitting on toilet seats. The respondents also reported engaging in risky behavior, such as not using condoms during sexual activity. Thakore’s survey research was the basis of her master’s thesis.

"When you are at a university, you are surrounded by people who are very knowledgeable about subjects such as AIDS, but by doing this survey, I was reminded of how we need to rethink the ways in which we educate people, especially vulnerable populations such as the homeless," said Thakore.

Thakore’s interest includes more than AIDS research. Before coming to HSPH, she worked at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, overseeing two epidemiological studies. Using tissue samples taken from breast cancer patients, the Mount Sinai researchers and collaborators investigated a potential correlation between mutations in specific genes such as BRCA1 and cancer.

Before leaving Mount Sinai, Thakore assisted in the design of a third study about the role of therapeutic radiation doses in the development of breast cancers in previously healthy breasts.

Added Kanki, "From the standpoint of our laboratory’s research program, Seema is a perfect fit because she has been able to combine her interest in molecular epidemiology and infectious diseases, specifically HIV, to formulate some interesting questions about the importance of the natural diversity of AIDS viruses and their ability to cause diseases in Africa."