Joelle Ann Joseph

Though born and raised in Haiti, Joelle-Ann has been living in Georgia for the past 13 years. Thus, it is fair to say that Georgia is home after all these years. She obtained her bachelor’s in chemistry from Georgia State University. After completing her undergraduate degree, she spent four years working at a long-term care pharmacy thinking she wanted to pursue pharmacy school before realizing this was not the path she wanted to take. Thus, she re-enrolled in school and obtained her master’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Miami. During her graduate studies, she investigated how the dual action of HIV and methamphetamine damages the blood-brain barrier and contributes to the progression of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. She also investigated the use of a dual CCR2/CCR5 receptor antagonist drug to suppress the inflammasome-mediated response in a hypoxic HIV-infected brain as a model for ischemic stroke. She is excited to be joining the Bou-Nader lab as this new role allows her to study and understand HIV from an entirely new angle. Her aim is to decipher, from a structural perspective, how HIV not only evades detection from the innate immune system, but also exploits the host machinery to promote infectivity. Joelle-Ann often says “Science is such a beautiful and vast art that can pull you in many directions”. Consequently, she hopes that this opportunity will expand her scientific abilities while also help her decide which area of study to focus on for her doctoral work. Apart from being in the lab, she confesses to not having numerous hobbies, but a good sip and paint and a good movie, she always finds, are the best ways to unwind.