Scholars

Senior Investigator

Positions:

Senior Investigator, Molecular Structure Section

overview

Dr. Berger earned his B.S. in chemistry from City College of the City University of New York in 1968. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology in 1973 from Cornell University. He went on to do a postdoctoral fellowship in the department of genetics, biochemistry, and neurobiology at Stanford University School of Medicine from 1973 to 1976 and another fellowship in the department of cellular and developmental immunology at Scripps Clinical and Research Foundation from 1976 to 1977. He was a staff scientist with the Cell Biology Group at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, from 1977 to 1987. He joined the NIAID Laboratory of Viral Diseases in 1987 and became chief of the Molecular Structure Section in 1995.

Awards
American Academy of Microbiology Fellow; Bernard Fields Memorial Lectureship, CROI 2007;1st NIH World AIDS Day Award 2006; ISI Highly Cited Researcher, Breakthrough of the Year, Science 1996; AAAS-Newcomb Cleveland Prize 1997; Great Experiments; Kenneth Fong/Clontech Award; Novartis-Drew Award for Biomedical Science; Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Foundation Most Prominent Alumni; AMA/NIAID Nathan Davis Award; NIH Outstanding Contributions to Education of Postbaccalaureate Trainees; Norman P Salzman Memorial Mentor Award in Virology, Honorable Mention

National Institutes of Health Interest Group Memberships
Virology Interest Group, Immunology Interest Group, Antibody Interest Group, Viral Hepatitis Interest Group

selected publications

Academic Articles88

(2020). A Trispecific Anti-HIV Chimeric Antigen Receptor Containing the CCR5 N-Terminal Region. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. 10,
(2019). Glycoprotein K8.1A of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Is a Critical B Cell Tropism Determinant Independent of Its Heparan Sulfate Binding Activity. JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY. 93(6),
(2018). Bispecific chimeric antigen receptors targeting the CD4 binding site and high-mannose Glycans of gp120 optimized for anti-human immunodeficiency virus potency and breadth with minimal immunogenicity. CYTOTHERAPY. 20(3), 407-419.
(2018). Interdomain Stabilization Impairs CD4 Binding and Improves Immunogenicity of the HIV-1 Envelope Trimer. Cell Host & Microbe. 23(6), 832-+.
(2018). Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV)-Specific Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Cell Engineered to Target B Cell Follicles and Suppress SIV Replication. Frontiers in Immunology. 9,
(2016). Assembly and release of infectious hepatitis C virus involving unusual organization of the secretory pathway. World Journal of Hepatology. 8(19), 796-814.
(2016). Humoral Antibody Responses to HIV Viral Proteins and to CD4 Among HIV Controllers, Rapid and Typical Progressors in an HIV-Positive Patient Cohort. AIDS RESEARCH AND HUMAN RETROVIRUSES. 32(12), 1187-1197.
(2015). Finding fusin/CXCR4, the first "2nd receptor" for HIV entry. Frontiers in Immunology. 6,
(2015). Novel CD4-Based Bispecific Chimeric Antigen Receptor Designed for Enhanced Anti-HIV Potency and Absence of HIV Entry Receptor Activity. JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY. 89(13), 6685-6694.
(2015). Towards an HIV cure based on targeted killing of infected cells: different approaches against acute versus chronic infection. Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS. 10(3), 207-213.
(2014). Efficient Infection of a Human B Cell Line with Cell-Free Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus. JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY. 88(3), 1748-1757.
(2014). Targeted Cytotoxic Therapy Kills Persisting HIV Infected Cells During ART. PLoS Pathogens. 10(1),
(2013). Blocking HIV-1 gp120 at the Phe43 Cavity: If the Extension Fits .... STRUCTURE. 21(6), 871-872.
(2012). Selective killing of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus lytically infected cells with a recombinant immunotoxin targeting the viral gpK8.1A envelope glycoprotein. mAbs. 4(2), 233-242.
(2011). A New Model to Produce Infectious Hepatitis C Virus without the Replication Requirement. PLoS Pathogens. 7(4),
(2011). An immunotoxin targeting the gH glycoprotein of KSHV for selective killing of cells in the lytic phase of infection. ANTIVIRAL RESEARCH. 90(3), 143-150.
(2011). HIV-1 Entry Cofactor: Functional cDNA Cloing of a Seven-Transmembrane, G protein-Coupled Receptor. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY. 186(11), 872-877.
(2011). Intraprotomer masking of third variable loop (V3) epitopes by the first and second variable loops (V1V2) within the native HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein trimer. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 108(50), 20148-20153.
(2011). Targeted cytotoxic therapy: adapting a rapidly progressing anticancer paradigm for depletion of persistent HIV-infected cell reservoirs. Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS. 6(1), 80-85.
(2010). Immunotoxin Complementation of HAART to Deplete Persisting HIV-Infected Cell Reservoirs. PLoS Pathogens. 6(6),
(2010). sCD4-17b bifunctional protein: Extremely broad and potent neutralization of HIV-1 Env pseudotyped viruses from genetically diverse primary isolates. Retrovirology. 7,
(2009). Complementation of diverse HIV-1 Env defects through cooperative subunit interactions: a general property of the functional trimer. Retrovirology. 6,
(2007). HIV coreceptors: From discovery and designation to new paradigms and promise. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH. 12(9), 375-384.
(2007). HIV gp120 interactions with coreceptors: Insights from studies with CCR5-based peptides. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH. 12(9), 403-407.
(2006). Anti-HIV-1 immunotoxin 3B3(Fv)-PE38: enhanced potency against clinical isolates in human PBMCs and macrophages, and negligible hepatotoxicity in macaques. JOURNAL OF LEUKOCYTE BIOLOGY. 80(5), 1175-1182.

Clarivate VIVO Sandbox

Academic Articles88