Learning objectives

• Explain how the intact proviral DNA assay (IPDA) works to quantify the HIV-1 reservoir and why accurate reservoir quantification is important.
• Explain how multiple genome occupancy can bias the conventional method of IPDA data analysis.
• Understand how Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) accounts for multiple genome droplet- occupancy to more accurately quantify the reservoir.
• Compare MLE-based and conventional approaches for estimating intact and total HIV-1 reservoir size.

Speaker Bio

I earned my Bachelor’s degree from Makerere University in Uganda and subsequently worked with the Rakai Health Sciences Program, a research organization focused on HIV and infectious disease research. I later completed my Master’s degree at Johns Hopkins University, where I further developed my research interests in HIV. I am currently a second-year PhD student in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Western University, where my research focuses on HIV cure research, with a particular interest in understanding HIV-1 reservoir dynamics and developing improved approaches for its accurate quantification.