Principal Investigator
Souheil Younes, PhD
Assistant Professor
Pathology Advanced Translational Research Unit
Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
View Faculty Profile | Publications
Dr. Younes obtained his microbiology-Immunology PhD degree from University of Montreal, Canada. Dr. Younes has an extensive knowledge in T cell homeostasis and in HIV-1 pathogenesis. This was acquired in Dr. Rafick-Pierre Sekaly’s laboratory in which Dr. Younes worked intensively on understanding the mechanism behind the maintenance of HIV-1 specific CD4 T cells in HIV-1 infected patients. Thereafter Dr. Younes moved to the National Institute of Health (NIH) to investigate T cell homeostasis in mouse models under the supervision of Dr. William Paul where he performed studies on CD4 T cell cycling in mouse models. Then Dr. Younes joined Case western reserve university working on T cell homeostasis in the laboratory of Dr Michael Lederman thereafter Dr. Younes was promoted to the position of Assistant Professor then he joined PATRU at Emory University.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Younes continues to investigate T cell homeostasis. His current research interests include the role of mitochondrial dynamics in T cell homeostasis. Currently, Dr. Younes focuses on gut-derived bacterial toxins and their impact on the dysfunctional mitochondria that prevents CD4 T cell recovery in HIV-1 infection settings.
MANUSCRIPTS
Younes Lab Members
Amanda Cabral da Silva, MS
Visiting Fellow
Pathology Advanced Translational Research Unit
Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
During her undergraduate, she studied the effect of a high-fat diet on somatic growth, metabolic parameters, and function of immune systems of young rats submitted to a maternal low-protein diet. Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Brazil.
Later, in her master's, she investigated the Profile of microRNAs in Kidney Operational Tolerance and did some collaboration in the study of Regulatory T cells and heat shock proteins. Laboratory of Immunology, Heart Institute, São Paulo, Brazil.
At the same time, she helped in the development of materials for teaching immunology in the project “Immunology in Schools” for the popularization of science in Public Education. By iii-Institute for Investigative Immunology - National Institute of Science and Technology (iii-INCT), Brazil.
She worked as a flow cytometrist in the Clinical study of evaluation of the cellular immune response to vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo- FMUSP, Medical Investigation Laboratory, LIM-60.
She joined the Younes Lab and PATRU in 2021.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
She currently works with Dr. Younes, where the current focus is to rescue dysfunctional mitochondria with the purpose of restore CD4 T cell count in Immune failure subjects.
Her current research interests include the recovery of CD4 cells in HIV and the plasticity of the immune system in infectious diseases of neonates.
PUBLICATIONS
Publications 1 • Publication 2 • Publication 3 • Publication 4
Amber Rittgers
Research Specialist Lead
Pathology Advanced Translational Research Unit
Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Amber obtained her B.S. in Biology from North Georgia University. During this time, Amber studied molecular and population level genetics using both plant and animal models. She investigated genetic diversity in endemic plant species to aid in conservation efforts, as well as describe the gene expression patterns of developmental regulatory genes Hoxb6a and Hoxb6b in zebrafish.
Later, she earned her M.S. in Genetics at the University of Georgia investigating gene regulatory networks critical in limb development. Using CRISPR-Cas9-
mediated genome editing technology she worked to describe the roles of limb-specific genes such as pitx1 and tbx4 in the brown anole lizard.
She joined the Younes Laboratory and PATRU in March 2023.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Amber currently works with Dr. Younes, where the current focus is to determine the mechanisms that govern CD4 T cell lymphopenia in people living with HIV.
Her current research interests include identifying the mechanism that induces cellular and mitochondrial senescence with the purpose of restoring CD4 T cell levels in HIV-infected non-immune responders.
PUBLICATIONS
Rittgers, A. L., Le Pabic, P., & Davis, A. (2021). Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Hoxb6: An Exploration into the Divergence of Genomic DNA Sequence and Gene Expression Across Teleost Fishes Post-Genome Duplication. Georgia Journal of Science, 79(2), 2.