Genya Gekker

Genya Gekker received her medical training and degree in Lvov, Ukraine. She joined the Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation in 1981 and has worked on studies of macrophage biology ever since. During the past 12 years, she has had a major interest in microglial cells, the resident macrophages of the brain, and has been involved in research on many properties of these cells related to defense and damage of the nervous system. The pathogens under study have included HIV-1, CMV, HSV, Cryptococcus neoformans, Toxoplasma gondii, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The role of cytokines and chemokines elicited from activated microglia has been a central focus of her work, and the influence of psychoactive drugs on microglia-pathogen interactions has captured major attention.

Selected Publications

Gekker G, Hu S, Wentland MP, Bidlack JM, Lokensgard JR, Peterson PK.  Kappa-opioid receptor ligands inhibit cocaine-induced HIV-1 expression in microglial cells.  J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2004;309:600-6.

Peterson PK, Gekker G, Hu S, Cabral G, Lokensgard JR.  Cannabinoids and morphine differentially affect HIV-1 expression in CD4(+) lymphocyte and microglial cell cultures.  J Neuroimmunol.  2004;147:123-6.

Rock RB, Gekker G, Hu S, Sheng WS, Cheeran M, Lokensgard JR, Peterson PK.  Role of microglia in central nervous system infections.  Clin Microbiol Rev. 2004;17:942-64.