Dr. Rachel Presti has a broad background in basic, translational and clinical science in infectious disease. Her research interests have centered around the pathogenesis of infectious disease, with a particular emphasis on the immunologic response and the role of the microbiome and virome in infections, especially HIV and emerging viral infections such as COVID-19. Since 2006, she has been conducting clinical trials at the Washington University Infectious Disease Clinical Research Unit (ID CRU), where she currently serves as the Medical Director of the Research Unit, and PI of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group Clinical Research Site. Dr. Presti, along with the expertise of the ID CRU, has conducted groundbreaking clinical research in HIV through both the ACTG as well as independently funded research. She has responded aggressively to the COVID-19 pandemic, conducting both translational research to understand immune responses after infection or vaccination as well as treatment, prevention and vaccination trials in participants infected with or at risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2. Under her guidance ID CRU has enrolled >2000 participants into over 50 clinical trials over the past 4 years, and has expanded capacity to collect and process clinical data as well as complex clinical biospecimens, including plasmapheresis collections, lymph node biopsies, and gut biopsies. She has collaborated with numerous faculty in immunology, microbiology and other divisions in medicine and has a strong track record of evaluating the immune response to infections and vaccines.