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Celsa A. Spina

Celsa Spina

Credentials: 

  • B.S.

  • Ph. D

Current Position(s): 

  • Research Scientist

  • Research Microbiologist

Personal Statement: 

Dr. Spina's ongoing research emphasis is on the interaction of CD4 T cell activation events and the regulation of HIV replication and latency. A key primary T cell model of latency that is being used in the R21 phase of the project has been developed and studied extensively in her laboratory. In addition to Dr. Spina's basic research efforts, she has served over the past 23 years as the Director of the San Diego CFAR Flow Cytometry Research Core facility to coordinate UCSD, VA, and VMRF flow cytometry resources for academic investigators in the San Diego area. Dr. Spina's research experience and expertise in the use of primary T cell models to investigate control of HIV latency gives her a unique perspective and provides an excellent basis to be able to contribute significantly to the achievement of the goals of this proposal.

      Presently, Dr. Spina has a dual appointment with UCSD, as an Associate Professor of Pathology and the VASDHS, as a Research Microbiologist. Her effort between these two appointments is non-overlapping and fully within the policies agreed to by UC San Diego School of Medicine, VASDHS, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and NIH. With Dr. Spina's combined duties, her time is divided between research (80%), teaching/mentoring (10%), and administration (10%).

Professional History:

  • 1976-1978       NCI Postdoctoral Research Fellow, UCLA

  • 1978-1980       Fellow, Medical Laboratory Immunology, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, UCLA

  • 1980-1982       Assistant Director, Clinical Immunology Research Laboratory, UCLA

  •                           Assistant Research Immunologist, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, UCLA

  • 1982-1986       Associate Director, Clinical Immunology Research Laboratory, UCLA

  •                           Assistant Research Immunologist, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, UCLA

  • 1986-1990       Assistant Research Scientist, Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego

  • 1988-2006       Scientific Director, Research Center for AIDS and HIV Infection, San Diego VA Medical Center

  • 1988-pres.       Research Microbiologist, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System

  • 1990-1997       Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego

  • 1994-pres.       Director, Flow Cytometry Research Core, Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), San Diego

  • 1996-pres.       Research Scientist, Veterans Medical Research Foundation, San Diego

  • 1997-pres.       Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego

Education:

  • University of California, Davis                        06/1970           Biological Sciences

  • University of California, Davis                        03/1976           Microbiology

  • University of California, Los Angeles            1975-1978        Immunology

  • University of California, Los Angeles            09/1981            Medical Lab Immunology

Awards and Honors: 

  • 1966-1970       Regents' Scholar, State of California

  • 1967-1970       Agathon Women's Honor Society

  • 1970                 Graduation Cum Laude,

  • 1976-1978       NCI Postdoctoral Research Fellow

 

National/Global Website: National Center for Biotechnology Information

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