The Ndhlovu Laboratory investigates the pathogenic mechanisms underlying complications in people living with HIV — particularly those receiving virally suppressive antiretroviral therapy — across a spectrum of ages. Using state-of-the-art immunological, virological, and molecular epigenetic approaches, we aim to develop novel therapeutics and improve quality of life outcomes, ultimately advancing toward a cure for HIV.
Our pre-clinical and clinical studies leverage immunology, virology, and molecular epigenetics to resolve the mechanisms of HIV pathogenesis, persistence, and complications across all ages.
Co-leading the NIH HOPE Collaboratory — a Martin Delaney program — to permanently silence and remove latent HIV using epigenetic mechanisms, inspired by how ancient retroviruses become naturally inactivated over time.
Investigating persistent cognitive dysfunction and neuroinflammation in virally suppressed individuals. Using brain organoids, single-cell approaches, and galectin-9 biology to identify CNS HIV reservoirs and therapeutic targets.
Exploring how HIV drives premature aging phenotypes — including cardiovascular and neurocognitive decline — using epigenome-wide profiling, single-cell analyses, and DNA methylation clocks across the lifespan.
Leading an NIH/NIDA-funded program studying how cannabis and opioids affect brain health in PLWH, using single-cell RNA sequencing in neurogenic brain regions and the SCORCH program framework.
Investigating immunometabolic and extracellular vesicle mechanisms driving elevated cardiovascular disease risk in PLWH, with biomarker discovery aims and clinical translation as central goals.
Promoting HIV research in Myanmar, Thailand, and across Africa. Co-leading an NIH MERIT Award study with OHSU on stem cell transplant-mediated HIV cure — working directly with individuals who have been cured of HIV.
Research breakthroughs, funding milestones, honors, and team announcements from the Ndhlovu Laboratory.
Dr. Lishomwa Ndhlovu — the Herbert J. and Ann L. Siegel Distinguished Professor of Medicine — was elected to the prestigious AAP, one of the highest honors in medicine, recognizing his pioneering contributions to translational research at the intersection of HIV and aging. His multidisciplinary program integrates immunology, virology, epigenetics, and machine learning to understand the molecular underpinnings of HIV pathogenesis and persistence.
Read More →Live feed from PubMed — updates automatically when new papers are indexed. Over 100 peer-reviewed articles spanning immunology, virology, epigenetics, and clinical HIV medicine.
An interdisciplinary group of clinician-scientists, basic researchers, and translational biologists united by the mission to understand and ultimately cure HIV.
Dr. Ndhlovu is the Herbert J. and Ann L. Siegel Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, where he directs the Laboratory of HIV Immunopathogenesis and Emerging Pathogens in the Division of Infectious Diseases. He is also a faculty member of the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute and the WCM Cardiovascular Research Institute. A translational immunologist, he co-leads the NIH Martin Delaney Collaboratory HOPE, the NIDA-funded SCORCH program, an NIH MERIT Award for stem cell HIV cure research, and holds additional NIH and DoD grants. He is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, a member of the Association of American Physicians, Chair of the amfAR Scientific Advisory Committee, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. He trained at UC San Francisco as an Irvington Institute Fellow of the Cancer Research Institute and maintains adjunct appointments at the University of Hawaii. His lab has active research programs in Myanmar, Thailand, and across Africa.
We welcome talented, motivated scientists who share our passion for understanding HIV and improving the lives of people living with it. The Ndhlovu Laboratory is committed to building an inclusive, rigorous, and supportive scientific environment — with a particular commitment to mentoring researchers from underrepresented backgrounds and global settings.