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Heidi J Zapata, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

Contact Information

Heidi J Zapata, MD, PhD

Mailing Address

  • Infectious Diseases

    PO Box 208022

    New Haven, CT 06520-8022

    United States

Yale Medicine

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Research Summary

The complex interplay between microbes and the host inflammatory response determines how individuals respond to infection and disease. This relationship is individual to each patient, and is affected by the immune dysregulation seen in older adults and HIV patients. Both aging and HIV disease (even the subset of HIV-infected elite controllers) are associated with elevated levels of cytokines, acute phase reactants, and clotting factors; the term “inflamm-aging” was coined to describe this age-associated pro-inflammatory environment. However, the source of these elevated plasma biomarkers is less well described, and may reflect innate immune dysfunction. My research interests are aimed towards understanding how the innate immune response is affected by aging and HIV-infection, and how it may contribute to the pro-inflammatory environment that is present in both older adults and HIV-infected individuals.

Coauthors

Research Interests

Aging; HIV; Immune System; Immunity, Innate

Selected Publications

  • Impact of Aging and HIV Infection on the Function of the C-Type Lectin Receptor MINCLE in Monocytes.Zapata HJ, Van Ness PH, Avey S, Siconolfi B, Allore HG, Tsang S, Wilson J, Barakat L, Mohanty S, Shaw AC. Impact of Aging and HIV Infection on the Function of the C-Type Lectin Receptor MINCLE in Monocytes. The Journals Of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences And Medical Sciences 2019, 74: 794-801. PMID: 30239628, PMCID: PMC6521921, DOI: 10.1093/gerona/gly209.
  • The microbiota and microbiome in aging: potential implications in health and age-related diseases.Zapata HJ, Quagliarello VJ. The microbiota and microbiome in aging: potential implications in health and age-related diseases. Journal Of The American Geriatrics Society 2015, 63: 776-81. PMID: 25851728, PMCID: PMC4406803, DOI: 10.1111/jgs.13310.
  • Aging of the human innate immune system in HIV infection.Zapata HJ, Shaw AC. Aging of the human innate immune system in HIV infection. Current Opinion In Immunology 2014, 29: 127-36. PMID: 24997358, PMCID: PMC4145838, DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2014.06.007.
  • Increased Levels of Macrophage Inflammatory Proteins Result in Resistance to R5-Tropic HIV-1 in a Subset of Elite Controllers.Walker WE, Kurscheid S, Joshi S, Lopez CA, Goh G, Choi M, Barakat L, Francis J, Fisher A, Kozal M, Zapata H, Shaw A, Lifton R, Sutton RE, Fikrig E. Increased Levels of Macrophage Inflammatory Proteins Result in Resistance to R5-Tropic HIV-1 in a Subset of Elite Controllers. Journal Of Virology 2015, 89: 5502-14. PMID: 25740989, PMCID: PMC4442529, DOI: 10.1128/JVI.00118-15.
  • Multiple network-constrained regressions expand insights into influenza vaccination responses.Avey S, Mohanty S, Wilson J, Zapata H, Joshi SR, Siconolfi B, Tsang S, Shaw AC, Kleinstein SH. Multiple network-constrained regressions expand insights into influenza vaccination responses. Bioinformatics (Oxford, England) 2017, 33: i208-i216. PMID: 28881994, PMCID: PMC5870750, DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btx260.
  • Multicohort analysis reveals baseline transcriptional predictors of influenza vaccination responses.HIPC-CHI Signatures Project Team., HIPC-I Consortium.. Multicohort analysis reveals baseline transcriptional predictors of influenza vaccination responses. Sci Immunol 2017, 2.

Clinical Trials

ConditionsStudy Title
Diseases of the Respiratory Systems; COVID-19 Inpatient; COVID-19 OutpatientA Study Tracking Health Care Workers Exposed to COVID-19
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