Assistant Professor

Trained immunity, HIV prevention, proteomics and systems biology

B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida, 2009
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013
Ph.D., Bioengineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015

Research Summary:

Ivana Parker, Ph.D., is a Fulbright Scholar who recently completed a year-long study at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Her project assesses the risk of a commonly used TB vaccine, BCG, on HIV susceptibility in infants using proteomics and systems biology approaches.

Parker completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship as an American Society for Microbiology Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control within the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. At the CDC, she evaluated the impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on diagnostic assay approaches and identified trends to optimize assay design. Parker received her Ph.D. in bioengineering from Georgia Tech in 2015. Her thesis investigated the effects of pro-atherogenic shear stress, HIV proteins, and antiretroviral therapies on the vasculature using in vivo and in vitro models. During her time at Georgia Tech, she received the NSF graduate research fellowship and was selected to be a trainee on an NIH Cell and Tissue Engineering Training Grant. She also received a Summer Whitaker Grant to develop artificial aortic valves in Cape Town, South Africa.

Honors and Awards:

• UF “40 under 40” Award, 2023
• UF International Center Global Fellow, 2021
• Fulbright Scholar, University of Cape Town, 2018-2019
• ASM/CDC Infectious Disease and Public Health Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CDC 2016-2018
• Whitaker International Summer Grant, Cape Town South Africa, 2014
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-2014
• NIH Cell and Tissue Engineering Training Grantee, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010-2011
• Facilitating Academic Careers in Engineering and Science (FACES) Fellow, Georgia Tech, 2009 – 2014
• Gates Millennium Scholar, 2004- 2012

Selected Publications:
Google Scholar Citations Link

Parker IK, George K. Martin M. Vanichseni S, Leelawiwat W, Hickey A, Choopanya Kachit, Garcia-Lerma G, Curtis KA. Altered Antibody Responses in Persons Infected with HIV while taking Pre exposure Prophylaxis. In Submission. JAIDS. 2018.

Parker, IK. Price KA, Smith, J. Curtis, K. “A Multiplex Assay for Detection of SHIV Plasma and Mucosal IgG and IgA.” Journal of Immunological Methods. Epub 2017 Jul 25; 450 (34-40)

Platt MO, Evans D, Keegan PM, McNamara L, Parker IK, Penny C. “Low-Cost Method to Monitor Patient Adherence to HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Using Multiplex Cathepsin Zymography.” Mol Biotechnol. 2016 Jan 11;58(1):56-64

Parker, I. Robert LM, Platt M. “Pro-atherogenic shear stress and HIV proteins synergistically upregulate cathepsin K in endothelial cells.” Ann Biomed Eng. 2014 Jun 23;42(6):1185-94

Gleason, R. Caulk, A. Parker, I. “Current Efavirenz (EFV) or ritonavir-boosted lopinavir (LPV/r) use correlates with elevate markers of atherosclerosis in HIV-infected subjects in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.” 2015 Apr 27. 10(4):e0117125.

Hansen, L. Parker, I. Gleason. R. “Azidothymidine (AZT) leads to arterial stiffening and intima-media thickening in mice. Journal of Biomechanics.” 2013 May. 46; 9:1540-1547.

Hansen, L. Parker, I. Gleason. R. “Endothelial Dysfunction, Arterial Stiffening, and Intima-Media Thickening in Large Arteries from HIV-1 Transgenic Mice.” Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2013 April; 4(4): 682-693