Education & Training
- AA, Onondaga Community College-1966
- AB, Syracuse University- 1696
- PhD, University of Utah-1973
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School-1974-78
Research Interest Summary
Research Categories
Research Interests
The Rinaldo laboratory studies cellular immunologic responses to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Kaposi’s sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV or human herpesvirus 8 [HHV-8]), cytomegalovirus (CMV) and SARS-CoV-2, with the overall goal of curing and preventing these infections. The lab focuses on the functions of professional antigen-presenting cells (myeloid dendritic cells, monocytes/macrophages and B lymphocytes) and their interactions with T cells.
Newest areas of this research include (a) single cell transcriptomics to assess cell-to-cell transcriptome heterogeneity and cellular differences concealed by standard, bulk RNA sequencing, and (b) CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing to target HIV-1 genome activity and immunotherapies, including T cell and natural killer cells, professional antigen presenting cells, and immune checkpoints.
Representative Publications
Rappocciolo G, Jais M, Piazza P, Reinhart TA, Berendam SJ, Garcia-Exposito L, Gupta P, Rinaldo CR. Alterations in cholesterol metabolism restrict HIV-1 trans infection in nonprogressors. mBio 2014;5:e01031-13.
Gerberick A, DeLucia DC, Piazza P, Alaoui-El-Azher M, Rinaldo CR, Sluis-Cremer N, Rappocciolo G. B lymphocytes, but not dendritic cells, efficiently HIV-1 trans infect naive CD4+ T Cells: Implications for the viral reservoir. mBio 2021;12:e02998-20.
Rappocciolo G, Sluis-Cremer N, Rinaldo CR. Efficient HIV-1 Trans Infection of CD4+ T Cells Occurs in the Presence of Antiretroviral Therapy. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2019 May 24;6(7):ofz253
Inefficient HIV-1 trans Infection of CD4+ T Cells by Macrophages from HIV-1 Nonprogressors Is Associated with Altered Membrane Cholesterol and DC-SIGN. DeLucia DC, Rinaldo CR, Rappocciolo G. J Virol. 2018 Jun 13;92(13):e00092-18.
Kristoff J, Palma ML, Garcia-Bates TM, Shen C, Sluis-Cremer N, Gupta P, Rinaldo CR, Mailliard RB. Type 1-programmed dendritic cells drive antigen-specific latency reversal and immune elimination of persistent HIV-1. EBioMed 2019; S2352-3964: 30222-1.
Garcia-Bates TM, Palma ML, Anderko RR, Hsu DC, Ananworanich J, Korber BT, Gaiha GD, Phanuphak N, Thomas R, Tovanabutra S, Walker BD, Mellors JW, Piazza PA, Kroon E, Riddler SA, Michael NL, Rinaldo CR, Mailliard RB; I4C and RV254 Study Groups. Dendritic cells focus CTL responses toward highly conserved and topologically important HIV-1 epitopes. EBioMed. 2021;63:103175.
Smith KN, Mailliard RB, Piazza PA, Fischer W, Korber BT, Fecek RJ, Ratner D, Gupta P, Mullins JI, Rinaldo CR. Effective cytotoxic T lymphocyte targeting of persistent HIV-1 during antiretroviral therapy requires priming of naive CD8+ T cells. mBio 2016; 7:e00473-16.
Knowlton ER, Rappocciolo G, Piazza P, Lepone LM, Nadgir SV, Bullotta A, Berendam SJ, Li J, Reinhart TA, Jenkins FJ, Rinaldo CR. Human herpesvirus 8 induces polyfunctional B lymphocytes that drive Kaposi’s sarcoma. mBio 2014;5:e01277-14.
Rappocciolo, G., Jais M., Piazza, P.A., DeLucia, D.C., Jenkins, F.J., Rinaldo, C.R. Human herpesvirus 8 infects and replicates in Langerhans cells and interstitial dermal dendritic cells and impairs their function. J Virol. 2017; 91:e000909-17.
Chen Y, Lin H, Cole M, Morris A, Martinson J, Mckay H, Mimiaga M, Margolick J, Fitch A, Methe B, Srinivas VR, Peddada S, Rinaldo CR. Signature changes in gut microbiome are associated with increased susceptibility to HIV-1 infection in MSM. Microbiome. 2021 Dec 9;9(1):237