Poorva Jain

I am currently completing my DPhil at University of Oxford with Prof. Hashem Koohy, Prof. Agne Antanaviciute, and Dr. Irene Cortese. In 2018, I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in Biology: Neuroscience. I worked in a behavior and neurobiology laboratory studying the role of ion channels in modulating response to temperature stress. Soon after, I started research at the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford. I was interested in developing novel cell-specific and sensitive radiotracers to image neuroinflammation in the context of neurologic disease. In parallel, I also served as an Emergency Medical Technician providing basic life support to patients in transport.

In 2020, I matriculated into the medical scientist training program at University of Miami. During which time I identified my medical interests in hematology/oncology and neurology. I am now completing my DPhil through the NIH OxCam program, after which I will return to medical school complete my clinical training.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a severe virally induced-demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, which occurs due to reactivation of JC virus in the context of severe immune dysfunction. Without proper and sustained virus specific immune reconstitution, this disease is often fatal within months of diagnosis. Many open questions remain regarding how the virus maintains latency, reactivates, moves through biological compartments, and specifically infects glia. With the unprecedented growth of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, we now have the tools to comprehensively and thoroughly survey host-pathogen interactions longitudinally over the course of infection and PML disease.

In my DPhil, I am interested in using next generation sequencing, to create a detailed map that integrates JC virus intrahost evolution, host cell function, and host immune/antiviral response. Ultimately, this map will also be correlated with radiological, clinical, and laboratory outcomes to provide insight into the molecular basis for clinical phenotypes and identify targets that can further improve diagnostic and therapeutic options for PML.