Phoebe Xu
Enloe Magnet High School
Cary, North Carolina
Metabolic Reprogramming of Immune Cells in HIV Infection and Treatment
Phoebe studied how immune cells change how they use energy
after a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
Phoebe Xu, 18, of Cary, studied how human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection changes how immune cells use energy for her Regeneron Science Talent Search medicine and health project. In early HIV infection, immune cells make more energy to fight the virus. Over time, the cells get worn out, which is how an HIV infection turns into acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
In her project, Phoebe studied how HIV infection changes gene expression in individual immune cells. She studied cells from people with untreated HIV, those on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and people without HIV. She found that HIV infection changed more than 50 metabolic pathways in the immune cells. Treatment with ART partially restores activity to normal levels. Phoebe believes that creating new drugs targeting these pathways could improve care for people with HIV and AIDS.
Phoebe, the child of Xiaojiang Xu and Zhihong Shen, attends Enloe Magnet High School. She is the founder of the Enloe entrepreneurship club, a national leader in Future Business Leaders of America, plays clarinet in the orchestra and is captain of the golf team. As an intern at the Alliance of AIDS, she promoted awareness of sexually transmitted infections.
Beyond the Project
Phoebe volunteers at the Raleigh Academy of Chinese Language. There, she founded and teaches a kids’ entrepreneurship class. As part of the class, she leads students in designing, manufacturing, marketing and selling products at local festivals and events.
FUN FACTS
Phoebe is a self-taught crochet artist. She designs clothing patterns. Her largest work is a tapestry depicting a scene from Dante’s The Inferno.
