Yuri Persidsky, M.D., Ph.D.
Phone: 402.559.7686
Email:
ypersidsky@unmc.edu
Interests:
Nephropathology
Surgical
Research:
The laboratory research focus is on studies of the functional and structural alterations of the blood-brain
barrier (BBB) during HIV-1 infection. The hypothesis is that dysfunction of the BBB plays a significant role
in HIV-1 associated dementia (HAD) and that it is related to the level of macrophage activation and
infection. The laboratory assesses structural (tight junctions, TJ) and functional compromise (specific
transport systems) of the BBB during the process of macrophage trafficking to the brain in HIV-1 infection
at the cellular level utilizing the in vitro BBB model and a SCID mouse model for HIV-1 encephalitis (HIVE)
in vivo. The relationship between neuropathologic changes, BBB alterations and behavior/motor impairment is
explored in the animal model of HIVE. The role of BBB transport systems (multi-drug resistant proteins) in
drug delivery during HIV-1 central nervous system (CNS) infection in order to improve penetration of drugs
across the BBB is also investigated. The potential synergistic effects of alcohol and HIV-1 in BBB damage
are currently under investigation. We propose that alcohol abuse leads to direct alterations in monocyte
migration during HIVE and that alcohol alters CNS immune responses through exacerbated BBB dysfunction.
Education and Training
Kiev State Medical Institute, Kiev, Ukraine M.D. 1978 Natural Sciences
Kiev Research Institute of Urology and Nephrology Ukranian Ministry of Health, Kiev, Ukraine Ph.D. 1984 Pathology
Professional Experience
1978-1987
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Kiev Research Institute of Urology and Nephrology, Ukranian Ministry of Health, Kiev, USSR.
1987
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Kiev Research Institute of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases, Ukranian Ministry of Health, Kiev, USSR.
1988-1994
Head, Laboratory of Pathology, Kiev, Research Institute of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases, Ukranian Ministry of Health, Kiev, Ukraine.
Sept 1992-June 1992
Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale, U 74 Physipathologie Moleculaire et Cellulaire des Infections a Virus, Strasbourg, France.
Aug. 1994-June 1996
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Laboratory of Viral Pathogenesis, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
July 1996-1997
Instructor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
1997-2001
Resident in Pathology (Anatomic), Department of Pathology and Microbiology, UNMC
July 1997 - July 2001
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, UNMC, Omaha, NE
1998 - present
Deputy Director Neurovirology, CNND, UNMC
July 2001 - June 2003
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, UNMC, Omaha, NE
July 2003 -
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, UNMC, Omaha, NE
September 2004
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, UNMC, Omaha, NE
National Activities
American Society of Virology
American Society of Clinical Pathologists
American Society of Neuroscience
College of American Pathologists
International Society of Neuroimmunology
American Society of Investigative Pathology
