Overview

For over two decades, I have studied the mechanisms that regulate basal and pathological bone turnover, focusing on the Immuno-Skeletal Interface (ISI). The ISI is a centralization of immune cells and immune-derived cytokine mediators, paradoxically repurposed to serve discrete functions in skeletal metabolism - a field now referred to as "osteoimmunology". My osteoimmunological research interests include: the bone anabolic properties of anergic T cells and the potential for immuno-regulatory pharmacological agents, to promote bone formation by modulating the immune response; collateral skeletal damage resulting from HIV-induced immunodeficiency and how HIV-antiretroviral therapy (ART) drives immune reconstitution bone loss (IRBL). Other long-term interests and collaborations focus on the role of the immune system in rheumatoid arthritis, natural aging, postmenopausal osteoporosis, sickle cell disease, hemophilia A, cancer metastases, hyperparathyroidism, vascular calcification, and the role of the microbiota in bone turnover under physiological and pathological conditions.

Academic Appointment

• Professor of Internal Medicine with Tenure, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism and Lipids, Emory University School of Medicine
• Nutrition & Health Sciences Program, Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Emory University
• Research Biologist, Department of Veterans Affairs, Atlanta VA Medical Center
• Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Investigator, Emory University
• Clinical Member, Molecular Pathways and Biomarkers Program, Winship Cancer Center Emory University
• Associate Director of the Bone Laboratory, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism and Lipids, Emory University School of Medicine

Education

Research