Dr. Saifuddin oversees the microbiology and virology research sponsored by CONRAD, CICCR and GMP.  Prior to joining CONRAD in 2002, he served on the faculty in the Department of Immunology/Microbiology at Rush University Medical School in Chicago, where he also managed a retrovirology laboratory.  Dr. Saifuddin has significant experience with HIV research, animal models, virus and cell culture, flow cytometry, PCR, production of new cell lines and expression of recombinant proteins, and has published extensively in these areas.  Dr. Saifuddin received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Bangladesh Agricultural University, in 1981; and Ph.D. degree in Virology from Massey University, New Zealand, in 1990.  He received his postdoctoral training in molecular virology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining the Rush University, where he was actively involved in HIV research and teaching.  His papers first demonstrated how HIV virus hijacks cellular proteins to subvert human immune defense system.  He was given a distinguished researcher certificate by the Sigma Xi Scientific Society in 1996.  As CONRAD's preclinical research coordinator Dr. Saifuddin is involved in identifying areas of research priority and creating and maintaining an active communication with a network of investigators.  He also participates in active solicitation and evaluation of formal and informal research proposals for funding by CONRAD.  Besides reviewing CONRAD proposals he also reviews grants for National Institutes of Health AIDS study section (SBIR/STTR).  The current research interests of Dr. Saifuddin include;

• Development and validation of non-human primate models for sexual transmission of HIV-1 in women.
• Development of mouse models for HIV-1 infection.
• Effects of common sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) on HIV transmission and pathogenesis.
• Preclinical evaluation of candidate microbicides against HIV and other common STIs.