CHEETAH Center for the Structural Biology of HIV Infection, Restriction and Viral Dynamics

The fundamental missions of the CHEETAH Center for the Structural Biology of HIV Infection, Restriction and Viral Dynamics are:

  1. to define the molecular mechanisms that allow HIV-1 to infect cells,

  2. to characterize the innate immune defenses that help protect cells against HIV-1 infection,

  3. to perform multiscale analyses of viral latency and rebound and learn how to modulate viral dynamics,

  4. to develop and apply new technologies that will advance our capabilities for studying HIV-1 biology,

  5. to create efficient management systems and to train and support the next generation of HIV researchers.

Illustration depicting nuclear HIV capsids completing reverse transcription while largely intact, and then uncoating and integrating their viral DNA into the host DNA. Created by Janet Iwasa to accompany an article entitled “Reconstitution and visualization of HIV-1 capsid-dependent replication and integration in vitro” by Devin E. Christensen, Barbie K. Ganser-Ponillos, Jarrod S. Johnson, Owen Pornillos, and Wesley I. Sundquist (Science Vol. 370 (6513):abc8420).