Edward P. Browne, PhD | Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases

Edward P. Browne, PhD

Associate Professor of Medicine, Browne Lab

Contact Information

epbrowne@email.unc.edu

Academic Office:

919-853-1058

Address

Office:

120 Mason Farm Road

CB# 7042

Chapel Hill, NC 27599

Resources

Publications

Lab

Edward P. Browne, PhD

Associate Professor of Medicine, Browne Lab

Areas of Interest

HIV, Systems Biology, Drug abuse

About

The goal of Dr. Browne’s lab research is to develop methods for studying and eliminating the latent HIV reservoir from infected patients. Latently infected cells are resistant to current HIV therapies and can persist in infected patients for decades. These cells thus represent the primary barrier to a “cure” for HIV, but the mechanisms that allow them to escape immune clearance, and persist, are still unclear. As part of his research effort, Dr. Browne has focused on applying cutting-edge single-cell and systems biology methods to the study of latency models. In particular, methods that permit the characterization of rare cell subpopulations have considerable potential to advance our understanding of HIV latency. Recently, his lab has discovered that latency is associated with the expression of a specific set of host cell genes – a latency “signature” (Bradley et al., 2018). This finding indicates that latency is regulated by a distinct host cell program that could be targeted therapeutically. Ongoing work funded by my current R01 award includes defining the molecular details of this program and characterizing chromatin-based events that correlate with latency at the single-cell level. Subsequent experiments in his lab using ATACseq and CRISPR/Cas9 targeting of HIV-infected cells have identified several novel regulators of HIV transcription (Jefferys et al 2021). In particular, he has identified the chromatin insulator protein CTCF as a key molecule for the maintenance of transcriptional latency and is investigating the mechanisms of CTCF-mediate transcriptional repression.

In the news

Evaluating Concurrency and Gaps Between Self-Report and Vaccine Card Data for COVID-19 Vaccination

Biomarkers or medical data verified by a medical provider are generally considered to be more reliable than self-reported data, but researchers often face challenges when collecting medical record verification or biomarkers from young adults (YA) in research. Edward P. Browne, PhD, and Audrey Pettifor, PhD, analyzed data from a randomized controlled trial to increase COVID-19 vaccine … Read more
Integrator Complex Subunit 12 Knockout Overcomes a Transcriptional Block to HIV Latency Reversal

The latent HIV reservoir is a major barrier to HIV cure. Despite advancements in keeping viral loads below detectable limits, HIV-1 still exists within a latent reservoir in vivo and viral replication returns when anti-retroviral therapy (ART) is interrupted. Nancie M. Archin, PhD, and Edward P. Browne, PhD, sought to improve HIV reactivation with a … Read more
IGHID Investigators Participate in CROI Conference

Investigators with the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID) participated in the 2025 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in San Francisco, California, March 9-12. Following are some highlights. In a CROI preview, Joe Eron, MD, was interviewed for the “Going Anti-Viral” IAS-USA podcast, discussing the state of HIV cure research … Read more
IAMIGHID: Spotlighting the HIV Cure Team

HIV/AIDS has been around for approximately 40 years, but many researchers say the end is in sight. The question is, will it be in our lifetime or just around the corner? This is a spotlight on the HIV CURE Center, comprising approximately 55 researchers and students, featuring David Margolis, MD, the director, Nancie Archin, PhD, a … Read more