Jennifer Kelschenbach, PhD

My Ph.D. training in Pharmacology led me to join the laboratory of Dr. Sabita Roy, in which I pursued thesis research that involved the study of morphine withdrawal on T helper cell functioning.  This training provided me with a solid background in murine immunology and drugs of abuse research.  Through my thesis research I also gained necessary laboratory skills and techniques that prepared and continue to serve me well in my current and future research endeavors.  Upon completion of my Ph.D., I joined the lab of Dr. David J. Volsky in the Molecular Virology Division at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center to gain experience in HIV biology systemically.  This training led to the current position I hold within the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and my growing interests on the effects that HIV has on neurocognitive functioning.  To that end, I was instrumental in developing and establishing procedures that would allow for viral delivery to the brain as well as establishing behavioral paradigms that would allow for the assessment of neurocognitive decline in our mouse model of HIV.  My research goals have come full circle as I have recently applied this training to optimizing the study of HIV replication in the brain and periphery, with the goal of investigating how morphine may influence virus entry into the central nervous system and subsequently effect behavioral outcomes.