Rate My Professor Susana Valente

The research in the Valente Lab centers on molecular interactions within host cells critical for HIV-1 replication, with a focus on viral latency mechanisms in CD4+ T memory cells and development of therapeutics to inhibit replication, particularly the 'block-and-lock' strategy for a functional cure. This approach aims to permanently silence the latent HIV reservoir using Tat inhibitors like didehydro-Cortistatin A (dCA). Her contributions include identifying host factors such as the chaperone protein p32, which stabilizes HIV-1 Tat to promote transcription elongation, and FUBP3, which enhances Tat-TAR interactions. Valente has received the Landenberger Foundation Award (2010-2012), NIAID Research Scholar Development Award (K22, 2009-2011), and Portuguese Ministry of Education PRAXIS XXI Ph.D. scholarship (1998-2002). Key publications include 'Silencing the transcriptionally active HIV reservoir to improve treatment outcomes' (Nature Microbiology, 2024), 'The chaperone protein p32 stabilizes HIV-1 Tat and strengthens the p-TEFb/RNAPII/TAR complex promoting HIV transcription elongation' (PNAS, 2023), 'In Vivo Suppression of HIV Rebound by Didehydro-Cortistatin A' (Cell Reports, 2017), 'Key Players in HIV-1 Transcriptional Regulation: Targets for a Functional Cure' (Viruses, 2020), and 'The block-and-lock strategy for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Cure: Lessons Learned from didehydro-Cortistatin A' (Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2021). Her work has advanced strategies to overcome antiretroviral therapy limitations and combat drug-resistant HIV variants, influencing the field toward HIV remission.