Marla Keller, MD is Associate Professor of Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women’s Health. She has a long-standing interest in the prevention and treatment of HIV-infection in women.
Dr. Keller graduated from New York University School of Medicine and completed residency training in Internal Medicine at Beth Israel Hospital and a fellowship in the combined Infectious Disease training program at Beth Israel Hospital and Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA.
Dr. Keller leads a research program focused on early phase clinical trials to assess the safety of candidate vaginal microbicides, drugs in development to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV, herpes simplex virus and human papillomavirus. Her studies also focus on defining the factors that contribute to innate mucosal immunity in the female genital tract of HIV-infected and uninfected US and African women. She has completed safety and pharmacokinetic studies of candidate microbicide gels (PRO 2000, Tenofovir, Dapivirine, Acidform) and vaginal rings (Acyclovir) and tested laboratory assays, which may prove to serve as biomarkers predictive of microbicide safety and efficacy.
Dr. Keller is a co-investigator of the Bronx/Manhattan consortium of the NIH-funded Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), a multi-center, prospective cohort established in 1994 to investigate the impact of HIV infection on women in the United States.
Dr. Keller is a fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) and a member of the HIV Medical Association (HIVMA). She is Director of the Clinical Research Center, a component of the Einstein-Montefiore Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, which is funded as an NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium member. She is also an active member of the Einstein-Montefiore Center for AIDS Research.
Keller MJ, Guzman E, Hazrati E, Kasowitz A, Cheshenko N, Wallenstein S, Patel S, Cole AL, Cole AM, Profy AT, Wira CR, Hogarty K, Herold BC. PRO 2000 elicits a decline in genital tract immune mediators without compromising intrinsic antimicrobial activity. AIDS, 21:467-476, 2007.
Patel S, Hazrati E, Galen B, Yang H, Guzman E, Wang R, Herold BC, Keller MJ. Seminal plasma reduces the effectiveness of topical polyanionic microbicides. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 196:1394-1402, 2007.
Shust GF, Cho S, Kim M, Madan RP, Guzman EM, Pollack M, Epstein J, Cohen HW, Keller MJ, Herold BC. Female genital tract secretions inhibit herpes simplex virus infection: Correlation with soluble mucosal immune mediators and impact of hormonal contraception. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology 63:110-9, 2009.
Keller MJ, Mesquita PMM, Torres M, Cho S, Shust G, Madan RP, Cohen HW, Petrie J, Ford T, Soto-Torres L, Profy AT, Herold BC. Postcoital bioavailability and antiviral activity of 0.5% PRO 2000 gel: implications for future microbicide clinical trials. PLoS One 5:e8781, 2010.
Keller MJ, Madan RP, Torres NM, Fazzari MJ, Cho S, Kalyoussef S, Shust G, Mesquita PMM, Louissaint N, Chen J, Cohen HW, Diament EC, Lee AC, Soto-Torres L, Hendrix CH, Herold BC. A randomized trial to assess anti-HIV activity in female genital tract secretions & soluble mucosal immunity following application of 1% tenofovir gel. PLoS One, 6:e16475, 2011.
Herold BC, Mesquita PMM, Madan Rp, Keller MJ. Female genital tract secretions and semen impact the development of microbicides for the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology, 65:325-333, 2011.
Verma NA, Lee AC, Herold BC, Keller MJ. Topical prophylaxis for HIV prevention in women: becoming a reality. Current HIV/AIDS Reports, 8:104-113, 2011.
Keller MJ, Malone AM, Carpenter CA, Lo Y, Huang M, Corey L, Willis R, Nguyen C, Kennedy S, Gunawardana M, Guerrero D, Moss JA, Baum MM, Smith TJ, Herold BC. Safety and pharmacokinetics of aciclovir in women following release from a silicone elastomer vaginal ring. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 67:2005-12, 2012.
Keller MJ, Burk RD, Xie X, Anastos K, Massad LS, Minkoff H, Xue X, D'Souza G, Watts DH, Levine AM, Castle PE, Colie C, Palefsky JM, Strickler HD. Risk of cervical precancer and cancer among HIV-infected women with normal cytology and no evidence of oncogenic HPV infection. JAMA, 308:362-369, 2012.
Keller MJ, Madan RP, Shust G, Torres NM, Cho S, Khine H, Huang M, Corey L, Kim M, Herold BC. Changes in the soluble mucosal immune environment during genital herpes outbreaks. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 61:194-202, 2012.
Keller MJ, Carpenter CA, Lo Y, Einstein MH, Lu C, Fredricks DN, Herold BC. Phase I randomized safety study of twice daily dosing of Acidform vaginal gel: candidate antimicrobial contraceptive. PLoS One, 7:e46901, 2012.
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