{"id":737,"date":"2014-07-30T16:51:21","date_gmt":"2014-07-30T16:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/kenyares\/?page_id=737"},"modified":"2024-02-28T17:02:11","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T17:02:11","slug":"jennifer-slyker","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/kenyares\/about\/who-we-are\/uw\/jennifer-slyker\/","title":{"rendered":"Jennifer Slyker, MS, PhD"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Associate Professor, Global Health<\/h2>\n

Adjunct Associate Professor, Epidemiology<\/h2>\n

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Dr. Jennifer Slyker, MSc, PhD, received her BA (Biology) from Colgate University, her MSc (Integrative Bioscience) from Oxford University, and her Ph.D. (Immunology) from Open University. She began working with the Kenya group in 2000 as a Research Assistant in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Slyker\u2019s major research interest is in understanding the unique way in which the infant immune system handles viral infection. Birth is a time of transition from a mostly sterile environment to one brimming with pathogens. \u00a0In infants, HIV infection occurs at a time when many infants also acquire persistent viral infections (herpes viruses: EBV\/CMV\/HHV-8). Though usually asymptomatic, these herpes viruses can cause severe disease in individuals that are immunosuppressed by HIV-1. Conversely, these herpes viruses themselves may accelerate HIV disease progression. Understanding the bi-directional interactions between HIV and herpes viruses, and the way in which this is modified by HIV therapy, maternal pMTCT prophylaxis, and antiviral suppressive therapy will enable the design of alternative preventative and therapeutic strategies to improve the health of HIV-infected children.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Publications<\/h3>\n
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  1. Begnel, ER, Maqsood, R, Holland, LA, Ojee, E, Owiti, P, Adhiambo, J et al.<\/i>. Comparison of gut virome in Kenyan infants born to women with and without HIV. iScience. 2026;29 (3):114900. doi: 10.1016\/j.isci.2026.114900<\/a>. PubMed PMID:41736871<\/a> PubMed Central PMC12927066<\/a>.<\/li>
  2. Kang, YJ, Wang, N, Malik, A, Lu, P, Njuguna, I, Maleche-Obimbo, E et al.<\/i>. An Fc receptor and IgA functional signature identifies TB disease in children living with HIV. medRxiv. 2026; :. doi: 10.64898\/2026.02.08.26345833<\/a>. PubMed PMID:41728310<\/a> PubMed Central PMC12919122<\/a>.<\/li>
  3. Willoughby, MT, Wylie, AJ, Mugala, H, Kamau, R, Collett, B, Begnel, E et al.<\/i>. Early life trajectories of head circumference predict executive function and fluid cognitive skills at age 4 in Kenya. J Dev Orig Health Dis. 2025;16 :e45. doi: 10.1017\/S2040174425100275<\/a>. PubMed PMID:41403298<\/a> PubMed Central PMC12926735<\/a>.<\/li>
  4. Ojee, E, Odiyo, J, Adhiambo, J, Mabele, E, Omondi, V, Begnel, ER et al.<\/i>. A cost analysis of postpartum home visit programming in Kenya: estimates to aid policymakers. Front Health Serv. 2025;5 :1644078. doi: 10.3389\/frhs.2025.1644078<\/a>. PubMed PMID:41323153<\/a> PubMed Central PMC12657431<\/a>.<\/li>
  5. Gasper, MA, Happel, AU, Dzanibe, S, Slyker, J, Jaspan, HB. Immunology of infants who are HIV-exposed uninfected in the parental combination antiretroviral therapy era. Lancet HIV. 2025;12 (11):e789-e801. doi: 10.1016\/S2352-3018(25)00184-5<\/a>. PubMed PMID:40885205<\/a> .<\/ol>Search PubMed<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

    Current Projects<\/h3>\n
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    The role of antibodies in mother-to-child HIV transmission<\/a><\/p>\n

    The effect of HIV exposure and infection on immunity to TB in children<\/a><\/p>\n

    CMV viremia and mortality in hospitalized HIV-infected children<\/a><\/p>\n

    CMV as a cause or co-pathogen in cervicitis<\/a><\/p>\n

    Maternal-infant virome transmission: the role of HIV and antiretroviral therapy<\/a><\/p>\n

    Viral determinants of natural human cytomegalovirus transmission<\/a><\/p>\n

    Infant immune mechanisms of HIV reservoir size and decay<\/a><\/p>\n

    Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult HIV Care in Kenya<\/a><\/p>\n

    Integrating oral health into the pediatric HIV care continuum<\/a><\/p>\n

    Simulated patient encounters to promote early detection and engagement in HIV care for adolescents (SPEED)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

    Completed Projects<\/h3>\n
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    Financial Incentives to Increase Pediatric HIV testing (FIT)<\/a><\/p>\n

    Developing Adolescent Strategies for HIV Testing (DASH)<\/a><\/p>\n

    HIV-1 Counseling and Testing for Children at Home (CATCH)<\/a><\/p>\n

    Immunologic correlates of EBV containment in HIV infected infants<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Associate Professor, Global Health Adjunct Associate Professor, Epidemiology   Dr. Jennifer Slyker, MSc, PhD, received her BA (Biology) from Colgate University, her MSc (Integrative Bioscience) from Oxford University, and her Ph.D. (Immunology) from Open University. She began working with the Kenya group in 2000 as a Research Assistant in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Slyker\u2019s major research… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":645,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page_no-sidebar-page.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-737","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/kenyares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/kenyares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/kenyares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/kenyares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/kenyares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/kenyares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11480,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/kenyares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/737\/revisions\/11480"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/kenyares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/kenyares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}