Afam Okoye is an Associate Professor at the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI), the Division of Pathobiology and Immunology, Oregon National Primate Research Center and Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). He holds a Bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the University of Nigeria and a Master’s in biotechnology from Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom.
He received his PhD from the University of Glasgow, studying papillomavirus capsid proteins under the mentorship of Saveria Campo. He moved to the VGTI at OHSU for postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Louis J Picker before joining the faculty of the VGTI in 2013. He is a trained immunologist with extensive experience in the investigation of non-human primate (NHP) models of HIV pathogenesis and immunity. His current research involves utilizing NHP models to understand mechanisms of HIV persistence during antiretroviral therapy (ART) and to develop therapeutic interventions aimed at achieving durable remission from HIV replication after ART withdrawal.