Manish Sagar, MD

Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Manish Sagar is a Professor of Medicine at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. His laboratory is primarily interested in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) mucosal HIV-1 transmission and antibodies. One of the focuses is to understand the biological mechanisms for the selection observed during HIV-1 transmission. Even though chronically infected subjects harbor extensive variants during transmission, only a limited number of viruses are acquired by newly infected partners. Genotypic examination of viruses present in the newly infected subject compared to those circulating in the transmitting partner suggests that the observed genetic bottleneck during transmission is not due to random chance. Laboratory studies explore the hypothesis that during transmission there is selection of specific variants with properties that confer fitness for transmission.

Another focus in the lab is to decipher correlate of immune protection. Even though infants are exposed to infected breast milk, only a small proportion (around 30%) acquire HIV-1 from their infected mother in the absence of antiretroviral protection. The lab hypothesizes that maternally acquired antibodies present in the infant prevent HIV-1 acquisition either through neutralization or antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity against the variants circulating in the maternal breast milk. Defining the immune correlate of protection will have important implications for HIV-1 vaccine design. Their work focuses on understanding HIV-1 envelope and host antibody evolution and impact on disease pathogenesis.

Dr. Sagar has served on numerous committees including NIH study sections and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Early Career Development Award Review Committee. He is an active member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

Publications

  • Published 5/19/2025

    Bean DJ, Liang YM, Avila F, He X, Asundi A, Sagar M. Endemic coronavirus infection is associated with SARS-CoV-2 Fc receptor-binding antibodies. J Virol. 2025 Jun 17; 99(6):e0055025. PMID: 40387363.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/29/2025

    Mcconney CS, Kenney D, Ennis CS, Smith-Mahoney EL, Ayuso MJ, Zhong J, Douam F, Sagar M, Snyder-Cappione JE. Individuals Infected with SARS-CoV-2 Prior to COVID-19 Vaccination Maintain Vaccine-Induced RBD-Specific Antibody Levels and Viral Neutralization Activity for One Year. Viruses. 2025 Apr 29; 17(5). PMID: 40431652.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/20/2025

    Thomson SJ, Mistry R, Bayly H, Overbeck V, Sagar M, Schechter-Perkins EM, White LF, Jacobson KR, Bouton TC. Barriers to recruitment of an observational SARS-CoV-2 emergency department cohort at Boston Medical Center. BMC Emerg Med. 2025 Apr 20; 25(1):68. PMID: 40254607.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 10/23/2024

    Bean DJ, Liang YM, Sagar M. Recent Endemic Coronavirus Infection Associates With Higher SARS-CoV-2 Cross-Reactive Fc Receptor Binding Antibodies. bioRxiv. 2024 Oct 23. PMID: 39484477.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/27/2024

    Heindel DW, Figueroa Acosta DM, Goff M, Yengo CK, Jan M, Liu X, Wang XH, Petrova MI, Zhang M, Sagar M, Barnette P, Pandey S, Hessell AJ, Chan KW, Kong XP, Chen BK, Mahal LK, Bensing BA, Hioe CE. HIV-1 interaction with an O-glycan-specific bacterial lectin enhances virus infectivity and resistance to neutralizing antibodies. iScience. 2024 Aug 16; 27(8):110390. PMID: 39108723.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 68 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Professor, Virology, Immunology & Microbiology
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Member, Genome Science Institute
    Boston University
  • Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students)
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

Websites

Education

  • Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, MD
  • Columbia University, BS

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