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Katharine Bar, M.D. (she/her)
Associate Professor of Medicine
Dr. Katharine Bar is an associate professor of Medicine and an Infectious Disease physician, clinical trialist, and physician-scientist who studies the basic mechanisms and translational impact of virus transmission, pathogenesis and persistence of HIV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and other viral pathogens. Her research uses innovative sequencing and molecular techniques to identify and characterize the viruses that establish productive infection and drive pathogenesis and persistence. Much of her recent work focuses on the translation of basic science discovery through preclinical testing in the nonhuman primate (NHP) model and human clinical trials. Her lab currently has three main areas of interest (i) characterizing the viral dynamics and host immune responses during ART suppression and analytical treatment interruption (ATI), (ii) developing viral reagents for NHP models that faithfully recapitulate HIV-1 latency and rebound following ATI, and (iii) determining the mechanisms and effects of broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb)-based interventions. Dr. Bar holds leadership positions in the AIDS Clinical Trials Group and the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, and serves as chair, co-chair, virologist or investigator on trials of HIV and COVID-19 prevention, treatment and cure.
Growing up in the 1980s and ’90s, Dr. Bar was acutely aware of the impact of HIV and AIDS on vulnerable populations. Her awareness was heightened during undergraduate school at Northwestern University, where she studied biochemistry and African history. At an early stage of her academic career, she received a scholarship to serve a four-month rotation at Tumutumu Hospital in the Central Highlands of Kenya at a time when antiretroviral medications were just becoming available. She also credits her early research work in urology with enhancing her understanding of how HIV is transmitted and its implications for important prevention strategies. After completing a residency in internal medicine at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals, where she was chief resident, and a fellowship focused on infectious diseases at University of Alabama Hospital, Bar joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, where she directs the Center for AIDS Research Virology Core. She has dedicated her career to pursuing prevention and cure strategies for HIV and AIDS. As part of a research team, Bar led a trial to explore the potential of a novel monoclonal antibody to suppress the AIDS virus in a group of patients taken off standard antiviral drugs. The results of this research, published with Bar as first author in the New England Journal of Medicine in November 2016, indicate that combinations of neutralizing antibodies may be needed for long-term control of the virus.
“In the U.S., there are still 30,000 to 40,000 new infections every year. Despite many advances, more people are infected with HIV in the world each year than are started on therapy. A cure is still in its infancy, but we are making important strides with new strategies to treat and cure the disease.
Clinical Work
Dr. Bar is currently seeing patients at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Her areas of expertise include:
AIDS, Anal Pap Smear, Antiretroviral Salvage Therapy, Aspergillosis, Blastomycosis (Mycosis), Bone Infection (Osteomyelitis), C. Difficile (Clostridium Difficile Diarrhea), Cellulitis, Encephalitis, Fever of Unknown Origin, Flu (Influenza), Flu Shot Vaccination, Fungal Meningitis, Fungemia, Genital Warts (Condyloma Acuminatum), Gonorrhea, Hepatitis, Hepatitis A Vaccination, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis B Vaccination. She has a patient satisfaction rating of 5 out of 5 (NRC health data).
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Himanshu Garg, Ph.D. (he/him)
Senior Research Investigator
Himanshu joined the lab in Arl 2024.
Himanshu has experience as gene therapy researcher, molecular virologist and immunologist with more than 20 years of research experience and training in regulatory affairs. He published extensively on gene therapy vector design, cell line development, vaccine development, antiviral assay development including PRNT, microneutralization assays, novel assays for virus infectivity, antiviral drug screening, and clinical and translational science, including observational human subject studies. Trained in molecular biology, virology, cell biology, multi-color flow cytometry, high content microscopy, immunofluorescence microscopy, small animal studies, advanced statistical analysis, and IRB protocol development. Trained at the FDA in regulatory affairs.
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Suvadip Mallick, Ph.D. (he/him)
Postdoctoral Researcher
Suva’s experience during his Ph.D. focused on experimental therapeutics against Visceral Leishmaniasis. For his postdoctoral training, Suva moved into virology/immunology and worked on the neuropathogenesis and neuro-inflammation of Encephalitis caused by neuro-invasive viruses (JEV, CHPV). Suva's postdoctoral training was undertaken in India as National Post Doc Fellow (Science and Engineering Research Board, India) at the National Brain Research Centre, at Tulane National Primate Research Center, USA, and at SouthWest National Primate Research Center (Biomed Research Institute, USA.) in Texas. Suva is fascinated to work with the Host-pathogen interaction, reservoir and viral rebound study with the HIV model of Non-Human Primates (SIV/SHIV).
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Jake Arthur Robinson, Ph.D. (he/him)
Postdoctoral Researcher
Jake joined the lab in April 2024 after postdoctoral training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he studied the role of vaginal microbes in immune activation during pregnancy and the role of intrauterine inflammation in in utero brain injury and immune dysfunction.
Jake is an academic scientist interested in viral and bacterial infections during pregnancy. He received his doctoral degree in biomedical sciences from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. His graduate training was focused on accelerated cardiovascular disease in people with HIV. His studies were in women with HIV, SIV-infected rhesus macaques, and HIV-infected humanized mice to identify the role of osteopontin in the development of cardiac fibrosis during HIV disease progression.
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Ryan Krause, B.S. (he/him)
Research Specialist
Ryan earned his BS in Biochemistry at Rowan University in 2016. Ryan joined the Bar Lab in January 2022 as a research specialist. He works on characterizing viral kinetics and autologous immune responses during antiretroviral suppression and treatment interruption in NHP models. In his free time, Ryan loves to be outdoor, bike, and cook delicious vegan dishes.
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Richard Webb Camp
Research Specialist
Webb joined the Bar Lab in September 2023
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Hannah Schrader (she/her)
Research Specialist
Hannah joined the Bar Lab in September 2023
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Francesco Elia Marino, Ph.D. (he/him)
Senior Research Investigator
Francesco is a Senior Research Investigator in the Bar Lab. Francesco earned his bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology and master’s degree in Medical Biotechnology at the University of Florence in Italy. After his degree, Francesco moved as Visiting Scholar to Monash University (Australia) and worked there as Research Assistant for 18 months. After his experience in Australia, Francesco received a scholarship to start a Ph.D. program in New Zealand where his thesis, undertaken as a collaborative project between Monash University (Australia) and the University of Otago (New Zealand), focused on understanding the mechanism of action of activin-C in modulating gonadal, adrenal cancers and cancer-associated cachexia in the inhibin deficient mouse model of gonadal tumor. As a postdoctoral fellow, Francesco studied several aspects of cancer biology, focusing on prostate cancer (Cleveland Clinic), cancer-associated cachexia (Indiana University), and breast cancer (University of Pennsylvania). After a short period spent in the industry sector, where he developed a LAMP-based assay to detect SARS-CoV-2 in clinical specimens, Francesco returned to UPenn and joined the Bar Lab in May 2022, where he is currently working on the characterization of common pathways of virus escape in vivo from CD4bs and V3 glycan bNAbs.
Francesco is passionate about mentorship and collaborative research and he advocated for the importance of mentorship in academic institutions (Marino, F. E. (2021). Mentoring gone wrong: What is happening to mentorship in academia? Policy Futures in Education, 19(7), 747–751. https://doi.org/10.1177/1478210320972199)
Francesco served as Reviewer for PLOs one, Science Translational Medicine, Endocrinology, Frontiers in Endocrinology, and STARS protocols. Francesco is also a current review editor for the journal Frontiers in Physiology.
Francesco’s interests include a healthy lifestyle, plant-based nutrition, preventive medicine, and classical music with a particular admiration for the pianist Martha Argerich and the romantic composers.
Francesco’s favorite quote is” try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value” (Albert Einstein).
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Alexander McFarland, Ph.D. (he/him)
Bioinformatician
Alex is a Bioinformatician in the Bushman Lab at the University of Pennsylvania. He also joined the Bar Lab as a part time bioinformatician. Alex helps the Bar Lab with all the bioinformatics related analysis. Alex has a PhD in Biological Sciences and his Interests are: genomics, soccer, and scuba diving.
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Hunter Courtney (He/Him)
Undergraduate Researcher
Hunter is a candidate for a B.A. in Biochemistry and Chemistry and a Roy and Diana Vagelos Molecular Life Sciences Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. He is an undergraduate researcher in the Bar Lab and in the Vella Lab at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He joined the Bar Lab in April 2023. Hunter performs single-genome sequencing to characterize HIV-1 neutralizing antibody responses after cART initiation and after ATI. His interest lies in chronic viral infections of the immunocompromised host, viral evolution resulting from selective pressures and immune evasion mechanisms, and care for people living with HIV/AIDS. He hopes to enroll into an MD/PhD program in human immunology to continue his passion for HIV-1 research. Outside the lab, Hunter likes to give back his time to organizations such as the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and The Trevor Project. He enjoys going to coffee shops, reading, and trying new food.
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