Dr. Feeney's research interests center on the immunopathogenesis of HIV infection in perinatally infected children. The broad goals of her research efforts are to elucidate the developmental differences between antiviral T cell responses in children and adults, and to identify correlates of protective HIV-specific immunity to guide the rational design of HIV vaccines and immunomodulatory therapies.

Children infected with HIV display tremendous variability in their clinical course and rate of progression to AIDS. In recent years, elements of the host immune response to HIV have been identified which correlate with a low viral load and benign clinical course in infected adults. Dr. Feeney's research seeks to identify genetic and immunologic factors underlying the high variability in rates of progression to AIDS among children. A particular focus is the study of HIV-specific immune responses in pediatric long-term survivors and children who are able to maintain low levels of viremia on little or no antiretroviral therapy. Identification of immunologic correlates of viral control may facilitate the development of therapeutic vaccines and other immunotherapies to boost the antiviral immune response as an adjunct to drug therapy.

Dr. Feeney is also interested in clinical research related to the implementation of antiretroviral treatment programs in the developing world, such as the training of local health care providers, the development of diagnostic modalities appropriate for resource-scarce settings, and the best use of antiviral medications in pediatric populations living in medically underserved areas. Toward these ends, collaborations have been established with clinicians in the Carribean and South Africa.

Margaret Feeney received her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an MMSc degree in clinical investigation from Harvard Medical School. She completed internship and residency training in pediatrics at UCSF and a fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at Childrens Hospital in Boston, where she joined the faculty in 2002. She is also a member of the Division of AIDS at Harvard Medical School and the Partners AIDS Research Center, where her laboratory is based.