Donald R Branch, PhD

Affiliate Scientist, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI)
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http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8974-2451
Keywords: signal transduction, HIV pathogenesis, transfusion medicine

Dr. Branch's current interests can be broken down into 6 main areas:

  • Signalling involving tyrosine kinases
  • Signalling in HIV/AIDS pathogenesis and disease resistance
  • Mechanism of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) effect in autoimmune inflammatory diseases
  • Replacement of high-dose IVIg in autoimmune/inflammatory diseases
  • Mechanism(s) of action of recombinant Fc multimers to ameliorate rheumatoid arthritis in a mouse model
  • Studies using monocytes and M1/M2 macrophages to understand red blood cell destruction in diseases involving eyrptosis and hyperhemolysis

Current projects include:

  • The function of Ableson tyrosine kinases in HIV infection
  • The function of spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk)-family in HIV infection
  • The role of signalling through the VPAC family of neuroendocrine receptors on HIV infection and resistance to infection
  • Identification of novel treatment modalities for HIV/AIDS
  • The mechanism of IVIG and recombinant Fc multimer treatment for amelioration of autoimmune inflammatory diseases
  • Drug discovery for small molecular weight molecules that inhibit phagocytosis
  • Use of in vitro phagocytosis assays to aid in predicting probability of hemolysis in patients requiring blood transfusion

For a list of Dr. Branch's publications, please visit PubMed or Scopus.

Affiliate Scientist, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI)

Professor, Department of Medicine and Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto
Scientist, Centre for Innovation, Canadian Blood Services