Chuen-Yen will conduct translational research to identify, characterize and target HIV reservoirs.  Her clinical studies focus on understanding HIV dynamics, genetic structures, and mechanisms of persistence.  She is currently doing a treatment interruption study, in hopes of unmasking viral reservoirs.  The study uses imaging to facilitate sampling and characterization of metabolically active sites.  She is also an investigator on a natural history study of people living with HIV.  And she is developing an intensification study to explore the effects of further reducing viral load in people with clinically well-controlled HIV.  These studies are crucial for understanding HIV persistence and provide opportunities for application of novel imaging approaches to characterize HIV reservoirs. 

Another component of her research focuses on development of camelid single domain antibodies (nanobodies) as PET imaging ligands.  Nanobodies are particularly attractive for CNS imaging applications because they can cross the blood brain barrier.  Several nanobodies are currently undergoing evaluation in the animal model.  Once optimized, radiolabeled nanobodies will be used in human studies.  Additional collaborations to characterize the neurocognitive impacts of HIV are also ongoing. 

Chuen-Yen hopes that her work will improve care of patients with HIV and facilitate broadly accessible HIV cure strategies.