Blankson completed residencies in infectious diseases and internal medicine at Johns Hopkins. He has practiced medicine in Delaware and Maryland.[5] He is currently a professor in the Johns Hopkins Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, and has an appointment in the Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology.[9]
Research
After his PhD research on immunology and residencies at Johns Hopkins, Blankson investigated HIV at Johns Hopkins with Robert Siliciano. Their work together has included research on HIV pathogenesis,[10] immune reconstitution,[11] control of viremia,[12] and HIV viral reservoirs.[13] They also reviewed the concept of "structured therapeutic interruption."[14]
More recently, Blankson has led investigations of elite suppressors of HIV-1 infection. Elite suppressors are people who are infected with HIV-1 but naturally suppress the amount of virus in their blood to very low, almost undetectable levels without use of antiretroviral drugs. Only 1 HIV-positive person out of approximately 300 is in this category. Blankson and other investigators suggest the biological mechanisms of this rare phenomenon may hold the key to new treatments for HIV.[15][16] As of 2019, Blankson had published more than 50 scientific articles related to elite suppressors,[17] and he has been interviewed extensively in the popular and scientific press.[3][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]
^Blankson, J.; Morse, S. (1994). "The CD28/B7 pathway costimulates the response of primary murine T cells to superantigens as well as to conventional antigens". Cellular Immunology. 157 (1): 306–312. doi:10.1006/cimm.1994.1225. PMID7518754.
^Blankson, J. N.; Siliciano, R. F. (2001). "Structured therapeutic interruptions: a review". The Hopkins HIV Report. 13 (1): 1, 8–9, 13. PMID12184252.
^O’connell, K. A.; Bailey, J. R.; Blankson, J. N. (2009). "Elucidating the elite: mechanisms of control in HIV-1 infection". Trends in Pharmacological Sciences. 30 (12): 631–637. doi:10.1016/j.tips.2009.09.005. PMID19837464.
^Vanguardia.com (in Spanish) "Algunas personas poseen defensa natural contra Sida" ("Some people have natural defenses against AIDS"), Vanguardia (Colombia), August 16, 2008.
^italiainformazioni.com (in Italian) "Forse c'è una speranza per debellare l'Aids. I medici "studiano" il caso di una donna affetta da 10 anni senza sintomi" ("Possible hope in the fight against AIDS. Doctors study the case of a woman infected for ten years without symptoms"), Italia Informazioni, August 13, 2008.
