Brinda Emu, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases)DownloadHi-Res Photo
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Director, Cancer-ID Clinic, Internal Medicine
co-Leader, Cancer Microbiology Working Group, Yale Cancer Center
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Director, Cancer-ID Clinic, Internal Medicine
co-Leader, Cancer Microbiology Working Group, Yale Cancer Center
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Director, Cancer-ID Clinic, Internal Medicine
co-Leader, Cancer Microbiology Working Group, Yale Cancer Center
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About
Titles
Associate Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases)
Director, Cancer-ID Clinic, Internal Medicine; co-Leader, Cancer Microbiology Working Group, Yale Cancer Center
Biography
Dr. Emu received her B.A. from Harvard University and her M.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She completed an Internal Medicine residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of California, San Francisco. She remained on faculty at UCSF from 2004 to 2009, studying immune correlates of protection in HIV-infected individuals. Dr Emu then worked as Medical Director in early clinical development at Genentech, Inc in South San Francisco (2009-2012). While at Genentech, she focused on development of novel therapeutic approaches to unmet needs in infectious diseases, inflammation, and oncology.
Dr. Emu joined the Division of Infectious Diseases at Yale School of Medicine in 2013. Her laboratory studies the intersection of chronic viral infection and oncology, with a focus on HIV-associated malignancies. Specifically, she studies the impact of HIV-associated immune dysfunction on carcinogenesis and tumor progression.
Appointments
Infectious Diseases
Associate Professor on TermPrimaryPathology
Associate Professor on TermSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- AIDS Care Program
- Cancer Immunology
- Cancer-Infectious Diseases (Cancer-ID) Program
- Infectious Diseases
- Internal Medicine
- Pathology
- Yale Medicine
- Yale Ventures
- Yale-UPR Integrated HIV Basic and Clinical Sciences Initiative
Education & Training
- Residency
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (2001)
- MD
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (1998)
- AB
- Harvard University (1994)
Research
Overview
- Evaluation of different T cell phenotypes/function across different ages of HIV-infected indivdiuals on antiretroviral therapy, compared with HIV-uninfected individuals
- Impact of T cell aberrancies on incidence of cancer in the setting of chronic viral infection
- Evaluating immunologic parameters of individuals with cancer diagnoses in setting of HIV infection
Medical Research Interests
Head and Neck Neoplasms; Hematologic Neoplasms; HIV; Immune Evasion; Immune Reconstitution; Immune System; Immunocompromised Host; Infectious Disease Medicine; Lymphoma; Thoracic Neoplasms; T-Lymphocytes
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Brinda Emu's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Brinda Emu's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Brinda Emu is interested in exploring.
Kurt Schalper, MD, PhD
Amy Justice, MD, PhD
Geliang Gan, MPH, PhD
Albert C Shaw, MD, PhD
Lydia Aoun-Barakat, MD
Saral Mehra, MD, MBA, FACS
41Publications
3,316Citations
HIV
T-Lymphocytes
Head and Neck Neoplasms
Publications
Featured Publications
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Is Associated With Poor Overall Survival Among Patients With Head and Neck Cancer
Salahuddin S, Cohen O, Wu M, Irizarry J, Vega T, Gan G, Deng Y, Isaeva N, Prasad M, Schalper K, Mehra S, Yarbrough W, Emu B. Human Immunodeficiency Virus Is Associated With Poor Overall Survival Among Patients With Head and Neck Cancer. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2022, 76: 1449-1458. PMID: 36520995, PMCID: PMC10319962, DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciac924.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsOverall survivalIndependent predictorsHNSCC patientsWorse prognosisOropharyngeal tumorsCox proportional hazards regression modelMultivariate analysisHPV-positive oropharyngeal tumorsNeck squamous cell cancerProportional hazards regression modelsLower median overall survivalAcademic hospital centerNon-HIV populationMedian overall survivalPredictors of survivalSquamous cell cancerHuman immunodeficiency virusPoor clinical outcomeExpression of CD4Poor overall survivalHazards regression modelsRace/ethnicityCD8 infiltrationHazard ratioClinicopathologic characteristicsPatients with HIV-associated cancers have evidence of increased T cell dysfunction and exhaustion prior to cancer diagnosis
Chaudhary O, Trotta D, Wang K, Wang X, Chu X, Bradley C, Okulicz J, Maves RC, Kronmann K, Schofield CM, Blaylock JM, Deng Y, Schalper KA, Kaech SM, Agan B, Ganesan A, Emu B. Patients with HIV-associated cancers have evidence of increased T cell dysfunction and exhaustion prior to cancer diagnosis. Journal For ImmunoTherapy Of Cancer 2022, 10: e004564. PMID: 35470232, PMCID: PMC9039380, DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-004564.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsViral suppressionTraditional risk factorsCase-control study designMarker of riskControl study designHIV infectionStudy cohortInhibitory receptorsRisk factorsCancer casesT cellsStudy designCancer diagnosisPLWHHIVCancerRiskCD4CellsPatientsTranscription factorsClinical cancer diagnosisCohortSuppressionInfectionCancer Microbiology
DiMaio D, Emu B, Goodman AL, Mothes W, Justice A. Cancer Microbiology. Journal Of The National Cancer Institute 2021, 114: 651-663. PMID: 34850062, PMCID: PMC9086797, DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djab212.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsDirect carcinogenic effectSpecific immune interactionsMiddle-income countriesCancer controlCancer preventionInfection controlImmune interactionsCancerCancer treatmentCarcinogenic effectsExposure reductionDrug developmentCancer formationPublic healthTreatmentHuman microbiomeCross-disciplinary trainingVaccineAntiviralsPreventionImportant roleUptake of oxidized lipids by the scavenger receptor CD36 promotes lipid peroxidation and dysfunction in CD8+ T cells in tumors
Xu S, Chaudhary O, Rodríguez-Morales P, Sun X, Chen D, Zappasodi R, Xu Z, Pinto AFM, Williams A, Schulze I, Farsakoglu Y, Varanasi SK, Low JS, Tang W, Wang H, McDonald B, Tripple V, Downes M, Evans RM, Abumrad NA, Merghoub T, Wolchok JD, Shokhirev MN, Ho PC, Witztum JL, Emu B, Cui G, Kaech SM. Uptake of oxidized lipids by the scavenger receptor CD36 promotes lipid peroxidation and dysfunction in CD8+ T cells in tumors. Immunity 2021, 54: 1561-1577.e7. PMID: 34102100, PMCID: PMC9273026, DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2021.05.003.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsTumor microenvironmentCell dysfunctionLipid peroxidationLipid accumulationOxidized low-density lipoproteinExpression of CD36Low-density lipoproteinCommon metabolic alterationsScavenger receptor CD36Intratumoral CD8Immune dysfunctionEffector TGlutathione peroxidase 4CD8Effector functionsInhibition of p38Metabolic alterationsReceptor CD36Therapeutic avenuesScavenger receptorsDysfunctionWT counterpartsTILsCell functionCD36Decreased Overall Survival in HIV-associated Non–small-cell Lung Cancer
Hysell K, Yusuf R, Barakat L, Virata M, Gan G, Deng Y, Perez-Irizarry J, Vega T, Goldberg SB, Emu B. Decreased Overall Survival in HIV-associated Non–small-cell Lung Cancer. Clinical Lung Cancer 2020, 22: e498-e505. PMID: 33468393, PMCID: PMC8169710, DOI: 10.1016/j.cllc.2020.11.006.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCell lung cancerGeneral patientsNSCLC populationLung cancerCox proportional hazards modelYale-New Haven HospitalGeneral NSCLC populationOutcomes of patientsOverall median survivalRetrospective cohort studyPredictors of survivalKaplan-Meier curvesHIV-1 RNACopies/mLLog-rank testProportional hazards modelNew Haven HospitalCancer treatment regimensMedian CD4Antiretroviral therapyCohort studyMedian survivalOverall survivalHIV infectionMedian age661. Ibalizumab Efficacy and Safety Through 48 Weeks of Treatment: Results of an Expanded Access Protocol (TMB-311)
Emu B, DeJesus E, Berhe M, Leider J, Creticos C, Weinheimer S, Cohen Z. 661. Ibalizumab Efficacy and Safety Through 48 Weeks of Treatment: Results of an Expanded Access Protocol (TMB-311). Open Forum Infectious Diseases 2019, 6: s303-s303. PMCID: PMC6811265, DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofz360.729.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsTreatment-emergent adverse eventsWeeks of treatmentCopies/mLViral loadCopies/Cohort 2Multidrug-resistant HIV-1 infectionDay 0HIV-1 RNA levelsImmune reconstitution inflammatory syndromeLog10 copies/mLHIV-1 viral loadPivotal phase 3 studiesCohort 2 patientsDurable viral suppressionMajor eligibility criteriaReconstitution inflammatory syndromeWeek 24 visitCD4 cell countMedian viral loadTreatment-experienced patientsCells/mm3Phase 3 studyInjection site reactionsLog10 copies/437 Safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in patients living with HIV (PLWH) and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): a matched cohort study from the international CATCH-IT consortium
Zarif T, Nassar A, Adib E, Fitzgerald B, Huang J, Mouhieddine T, Nonato T, McKay R, Li M, Mittra A, Owen D, Lorentsen M, Dittus C, Dizman N, Emu B, Falohun A, Abdel-Wahab N, Bankapur A, Reed A, Dobbs R, Kim C, Arora A, Shah N, El-Am E, Kozaily E, Abdallah W, Al-Hader A, Ghazal B, Saeed A, Drolen C, Lechner M, Espinar J, Nebhan C, Johnson D, Haykal T, Morse M, Cortellini A, Pinato D, Pria A, Bower M, Hall E, Bakalov V, Bahary N, Rajkumar A, Mangla A, Shah V, Singh P, Nana F, Lia N, Dima D, Funchain P, Saleem R, Woodford R, Long AO G, Menzies A, Genova C, Barletta G, Puri S, Florou V, Idossa D, Queirolo P, Lamberti G, Addeo A, Bersanelli M, Freeman D, Xie W, Ramaswami R, Marron T, Choueiri T, Lurain K, Baden L, Sonpavde G, Naqash A. 437 Safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in patients living with HIV (PLWH) and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): a matched cohort study from the international CATCH-IT consortium. 2022, a457-a458. DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-sitc2022.0437.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsThe β1-adrenergic receptor links sympathetic nerves to T cell exhaustion
Globig A, Zhao S, Roginsky J, Maltez V, Guiza J, Avina-Ochoa N, Heeg M, Araujo Hoffmann F, Chaudhary O, Wang J, Senturk G, Chen D, O’Connor C, Pfaff S, Germain R, Schalper K, Emu B, Kaech S. The β1-adrenergic receptor links sympathetic nerves to T cell exhaustion. Nature 2023, 622: 383-392. PMID: 37731001, PMCID: PMC10871066, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06568-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsImmune checkpoint blockadeCell exhaustionExhausted CD8Sympathetic nervesT cell exhaustionSympathetic stress responsePancreatic cancer modelAnti-tumor functionCheckpoint blockadeCatecholamine levelsTissue innervationCytokine productionChronic antigenMalignant diseaseChronic infectionCD8Immune responseAdrenergic signalingEffector functionsΒ-blockersViral infectionCancer modelExhausted stateCell responsesCell functionInfection with alternate frequencies of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine boosting for patients undergoing antineoplastic cancer treatments
Townsend J, Hassler H, Emu B, Dornburg A. Infection with alternate frequencies of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine boosting for patients undergoing antineoplastic cancer treatments. Journal Of The National Cancer Institute 2023, 115: 1626-1628. PMID: 37599438, PMCID: PMC10699797, DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djad158.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsReinfection riskAntineoplastic therapyAntibody dataSARS-CoV-2 infectionSARS-CoV-2 vaccinesChemotherapy-immunotherapy combinationsPfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2COVID-19 vaccinationHigh infection riskFrequent boostingRituximab therapyBreakthrough infectionsVaccination scheduleAntibody levelsBooster scheduleVaccination frequencyImmune responseAdditional interventionsReduced riskHigh riskHormonal treatmentGeneral populationNecessitating assessmentPatientsInfection risk
2023
1014 Adrenergic receptors regulate T cell differentiation in viral infection and cancer
Globig A, Zhao S, Roginsky J, Avina-Ochoa N, Heeg M, Chaudhary O, Hoffmann F, Chen D, O’Connor C, Emu B, Kaech S. 1014 Adrenergic receptors regulate T cell differentiation in viral infection and cancer. 2023, a1122-a1122. DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2023-sitc2023.1014.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
Mechanisms of HIV latency
HIC ID2000021845REGRoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date12/31/2048Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge18+ years
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
activity AIDS Clinical Trials Group
Professional OrganizationsMemberDetailsElected Member of the Inflammation Transformative Science Group11/01/2018 - Present
Clinical Care
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Clinical Specialties
Infectious Diseases
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Parasitic Diseases
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Board Certifications
Infectious Disease
- Certification Organization
- AB of Internal Medicine
- Latest Certification Date
- 2015
- Original Certification Date
- 2005
Yale Medicine News
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News
- November 19, 2024Source: TIME
What an HPV Diagnosis Really Means
- January 30, 2024
Fostering Equity and Inclusion in Infectious Diseases at Yale
- November 02, 2023
Offering Specialized Care & Research For Patients with Cancer and HIV
- March 21, 2023
Department of Internal Medicine Promotions and Reappointments
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