In collaboration with the Virgin Islands Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, our lab is examining the the role of immunogenetic variation in vulnerability to infection and long-term sequelae from Chikungunya and Zika virus. This recently initiated project involves high-resolution sequencing of HLA and KIR, coupled with serology and longterm surveillance and follow-up of infected individuals across the United States Virgin Islands.

In collaboration with the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, we are conducting a case-control study on infants exposed to Zika virus in utero to identify variants in HLA and KIR that could be associated to the Congenital Zika Syndrome.