Anna U. Bielinska, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Internal Medicine and M-

Dr. Bielinska is a Research Assistant Professor with over twenty years of scientific research experience in the fields of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. She has established herself as a recognized expert in gene transfer and regulation. She specialized in the regulation of transcriptional expression of genes, particularly HIV promoter-enhancer expression, and she worked on documenting the regulation of oligonucleotide expression in vivo. She has expanded her scientific interest into the field of immunity and works on the development of novel nanoemulsion-based recombinant vaccines for viral and bacterial pathogens. She also contributes to the development of targeted delivery of pharmaceuticals to cancer cells. This involves characterization of folate-targeted dendrimers through interactions with their biological targets, including affinity of binding, stability of binding, uptake, retention and release of the therapeutics. She works on several aspects of biological applications of a dendritic multi-functional device such as magnetic nanoparticles for MRI ⁄ SQUID detection. She has an ongoing collaboration to develop a nanoemulsion-based adjuvant vaccine for HIV. The HIV viral envelope protein gp120 is delivered intranasally using nanoemulsion. After the ability of the nanoemulsion to inactivate HIV virus has been tested, the immunogenicity of HIV virus mixed with nanoemulsion will be assessed, followed by determination of whether mice immunized with HIV⁄nanoemulsion are protected from infection with live HIV virus. The group's prior work along the same lines on Influenza A and Hepatitis B has shown promising cell-mediated immune response. She is presently actively involved with the development of an adjuvant vaccine for small pox, B. anthracis and Hepatitis B.