Dirk Dittmer
· Professor of Microbiology and ImmunologyUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · Pharmacology
Active 1991–2026
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About
Professor Dirk Dittmer leads research focused on understanding viral tumorigenesis, with a particular emphasis on cancers caused by Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV/HHV-8). KSHV is a double-stranded DNA virus from the Rhadinovirus family of human herpesviruses, discovered in 1994. It is associated with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and B-cell cancers such as primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) and multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD). These diseases primarily affect internal organs and are ultimately fatal. They are most commonly observed in immunosuppressed individuals in the United States, including those who are HIV-positive and transplant patients. Professor Dittmer's lab aims to elucidate the mechanisms by which viral infections contribute to cancer development, addressing a significant health concern given that approximately 20% of all human cancers have a viral origin or require viral infection as an essential cofactor.
Research topics
- Medicine
- Internal medicine
- Immunology
- Oncology
- Family medicine
- Pathology
- Gerontology
- Demography
- Environmental health
- Virology
Selected publications
The Lancet · 2020 · 91 citations
Pathogens and Immunity · 2020 · 81 citations
People with HIV (PWH) experience accentuated biological aging, as defined by markers of inflammation, immune dysfunction, and the epigenetic clock. They also have an elevated risk of multiple age-associated comorbidities. To discuss current knowledge, research gaps, and priorities in aging and age-related comorbidities in treated HIV infection, the NIH program staff organized a workshop held in Bethesda, Maryland in September 2019. This review article describes highlights of discussions led by t…
Clinical Infectious Diseases · 2021 · 74 citations
BACKGROUND: Antibodies to programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) may perturb human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) persistence during antiretroviral therapy (ART) by reversing HIV latency and/or boosting HIV-specific immunity, leading to clearance of infected cells. We tested this hypothesis in a clinical trial of anti-PD-1 alone or in combination with anti-CTLA-4 in people living with HIV (PLWH) and cancer. METHODS: This was a substudy of the AIDS M…
mBio · 2020 · 29 citations
This study suggests limited but accelerating asymptomatic spread of SARS-CoV-2. Asymptomatic infections, like symptomatic infections, disproportionately affected vulnerable communities in this population, and seroprevalence was higher in African American participants than in White participants. The low, overall prevalence may reflect the success of shelter-in-place mandates at the time this study was performed and of maintaining effective physical distancing practices among suburban populations.…
Journal of Biological Chemistry · 2025-02-03 · 20 citations
articleOpen accessSmall extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are particles secreted from cells that play vital roles both in normal physiology and in human disease. sEVs are highly enriched in tetraspanin proteins, such as CD9 and CD63, and contain tetraspanin-enriched membrane microdomains involved in loading of sEVs with macromolecule cargoes and in sEV biogenesis. However, the precise roles of individual tetraspanins in sEV biogenesis and cargo loading remain poorly understood. Here, we report that CD9 negatively reg…
Recent grants
NIH · $1.0M · 2020
NIH · $402k · 2005
NIH · $2.5M · 2016
Frequent coauthors
- 209 shared
Blossom Damania
- 74 shared
D. Avilov
Syracuse University
- 71 shared
Satish Gopal
National Cancer Institute
- 69 shared
Yuri Fedoriw
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- 63 shared
Sang‐Hoon Sin
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- 57 shared
Anthony Eason
- 50 shared
Nader Kim El‐Mallawany
Baylor College of Medicine
- 49 shared
Richard F. Ambinder
Johns Hopkins University
Education
- 1997
Ph.D., Microbiology and Immunology
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- 1993
M.S., Microbiology and Immunology
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- 1991
B.S., Microbiology and Immunology
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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