Wei Jiang | Cognitive and neuropathology | Women Researcher Award

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 Dr. Wei Jiang | Cognitive and neuropathology | Women Researcher Award

Medical University of South Carolina , United States

Her academic focus includes microbiome, B cell/autoantibody interactions, and disease pathogenesis, with particular emphasis on HIV, addictive drugs, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). She is involved in several clinical and translational research projects, including R01DA059854 (Jiang & Sheng), investigating the impacts of drug abuse on autoantibodies and immune reconstitution in HIV. She also works on CSRD Merit I01 CX002422, exploring B cell-mediated immunological failure in HIV-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy. Additionally, she contributes to NIDA-funded studies, such as R01DA055523, examining the oral microbiome’s effect on cognition in HIV-infected cannabis users, and R01DA059538, investigating HIV persistence in cocaine users. Furthermore, she collaborates on a Translational Science Award project exploring the oral microbiome’s impact on cognition in Alzheimer’s disease.

 

 

Profile

Education:

She earned her M.S. in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Case Western Reserve University, Medical School, Cleveland, USA, in 2012. Prior to that, she completed a Postdoctoral fellowship at Case Western Reserve University, Medical School, Cleveland, USA, in 2008. She holds an M.S. in Immunology from Capital Medical University, Beijing, China, which she completed in 2001. She also received her M.D. in Internal Medicine from Capital Medical University, Beijing, China, in 1997.

BRIEF RESEARCH INTEREST STATEMENT:

She has 8 years of clinical experience in infectious diseases and 22 years of translational research experience in disease immunopathogenesis. As a corresponding author, she has published 52 peer-reviewed articles on microbiome and disease immunopathogenesis in high-profile journals like Microbiome, Arthritis & Rheumatology, J Autoimmunity, and EbioMedicine, bringing her total number of peer-reviewed publications to 101. As a physician-scientist, she has served as Principal Investigator on five R01 grants from NIAID or NIDA, along with a VA clinical merit grant, focusing on microbiomes, drug abuse, autoimmunity, and HIV immunopathogenesis. Her research primarily focuses on two major areas. The first is understanding the role of B cell perturbation and autoantibodies in disease pathogenesis, particularly in HIV and SLE. In 2017, her team first determined that autoimmunity impacts antiretroviral therapy outcomes in HIV without inducing autoimmune disease. This concept was later corroborated in studies on COVID-19. Her team is currently developing monoclonal autoantibodies and inhibitors to prevent anti-CD4 autoantibody binding, aiming to improve CD4+ T cell recovery and reduce morbidity in HIV patients. The second area of focus is the role of microbiomes in disease pathogenesis, including HIV, SLE, and drug abuse. She has identified the impact of disease-associated pathobionts on immune perturbations and disease progression, with findings validated in animal models. Her microbiome research is supported by R01DA055523.

TRAINING, PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

She currently serves on the Appointment, Promotion & Tenure (APT) committee in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina, a position she has held since 2024. She was promoted to Full Professor with tenure in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine at the same institution in 2023. She has been a Faculty Senator for the College of Medicine and a Research Health Scientist at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center since 2022. Additionally, she is a member of the Translational Science Laboratory IAC (2020-2022) and the MUSC College’s Curriculum Committee (2019-Present). She has held various positions at MUSC, including Associate Professor (2018-2022) and Assistant Professor (2012-2018) in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Since 2018, she has been a member of the Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC and has served on the award committee for the Advancement, Recruitment, and Retention of Women in Science. Her academic career began as an Instructor (2008-2012) and Research Associate (2002-2008) at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, OH.

AWARDS

She received her Chinese Board of Internal Medicine certification in Infectious Diseases in July 1997 and was certified as an Attending Medical Doctor in Infectious Diseases in November 1999 (No: 10203C089758). In July 1997, she also earned a Teacher Qualification from the Educational Institute, National Educational Committee in China (No: 971100071069382). Her licensure is from Beijing, China.

She has received several awards throughout her career, including the Laboratory Travel Grant from the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) in 2019, the MUSC High Impact Research Publication Award in 2019, and multiple travel grants from AAI for various international immunology congresses. She was awarded the Early Career Faculty Travel Grant by AAI and ECI in 2018 and 2017, and received the Travel Award and HIV Section Chair recognition at the 2016 International Congress of Immunology. In 2015, she was honored with the MUSC Foundation Developing Scholar Award and an Early Career Faculty Travel Grant from AAI. Her earlier achievements include multiple Young Investigator Awards from the 13th and 15th Conferences on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (2006, 2008) and the Keystone Meeting on HIV Pathogenesis (2006, 2008). Additionally, she was recognized as an Outstanding Student Leader for five consecutive years during her medical school years from 1986 to 1991.

OTHER EXPERIENCE AND PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

She has held several key professional roles and memberships throughout her career. Since 2024, she has been serving as a mentor for the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Future Leaders Mentorship Fellowship (FLMF) Program. She is a member of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology 2024 committee and has been a Treasurer Elect for the Association of Chinese Virologists in America from 2022 to 2024. She has been a member of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) since 2021 and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) since 2020. She has also been serving on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology since 2019 and is a member of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology. Additionally, she has been part of the Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America (SCBA) and the American College of Rheumatology since 2018. She has contributed as an award committee member for the Advancement, Recruitment, and Retention of Women in Science at the Medical University of South Carolina since 2017 and is an associate member of the Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC.

She is also an active member of the MUSC Oral Health Center, College of Dental Medicine, and the Medical University of South Carolina College of Graduate Studies. Her previous memberships include being part of the American Association of Immunologists from 2011 to 2021, the Center for AIDS Research from 2008 to 2012, and the AIDS Clinic Trial Group since 2008. Her certification in Chinese Board of Internal Medicine in Infectious Diseases dates back to 1997, along with her teacher qualification from the Educational Institute, National Educational Committee, China.

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

She is currently leading several impactful research projects. As the Principal Investigator (PI) on R01DA059854 (9/30/2024-5/31/2029), funded by NIDA with a total of $3,924,302, she is studying the impacts of drug abuse-mediated inflammatory perturbations on affinity maturation of anti-CD4 autoantibodies and poor immune reconstitution from ART in HIV. This project aims to understand the role of cocaine in autoimmunity and immune recovery in HIV patients. Her role in this project is as PI (25% effort).

She is also a multiPI on R01DA059538 (9/30/2023-7/31/2028), with a total of $1,724,585 from NIDA, investigating host gene isoforms contributing to HIV persistence in cocaine users. The study focuses on identifying gene isoforms associated with HIV infection in elite controllers and its implications for cocaine users. Her role is PI (25% effort).

In addition, she is the PI on I01CX002422 (3/1/2022-2/28/2026), funded by the VA Medical Center CSRD Merit with a total of $1,195,899. This project examines the mechanism of autoreactive B cell-mediated immunological failure in HIV-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy despite virologic suppression. She is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of anti-CD4 IgG-producing B cells and the pathologic effects of anti-CD4 autoantibodies. Her role is PI with 62.5% effort.

Additionally, she is involved as multiPI on R01DA055523 (9/30/2022-7/31/2027), with a total funding of $1,731,992, where she is working alongside Fitting to investigate the effects of microbiome-related mechanisms on H

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