Gregory Dale Kirk, MD, MPH, PhD

Background

Centers and Institutes

• AIDS Research, Center for
• Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Global Health, Center for
• Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center

Clinical Trials Summary

Using Mobile Health to Respond Early to Acute Exacerbations of COPD in HIV (mReach)

Additional Academic Titles

Joint Appointment in Medicine, Joint Appointment in Oncology

Research Interests

ALIVE study, Biomarkers, Drug use, Epidemiology, Genetic susceptibility, HAART, Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C virus, HIV/AIDS, Liver cancer, Non-AIDS outcomes (lung, liver disease), Proteomics, The Gambia, Uganda

Lab Website

Gregory Kirk Lab

• Research in the Gregory Kirk Lab examines the natural history of viral infections -- particularly HIV and hepatitis viruses -- in the U.S. and globally. As part of the ALIVE (AIDS Linked to the Intravenous Experience) study, our research looks at a range of pathogenetic, clinical behavioral issues, with a special focus on non-AIDS-related outcomes of HIV, including cancer and liver and lung diseases. We use imaging and clinical, genetic, epigenetic and proteomic methods to identify and learn more about people at greatest risk for clinically relevant outcomes from HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections. Our long-term goal is to translate our findings into targeted interventions that help reduce the disease burden of these infections.

Research Summary

My research focuses on understanding the natural history of viral infections, particularly HIV and the hepatitis viruses, in both domestic and international settings. The ALIVE (AIDS Linked to the Intravenous Experience) study is a long-standing and productive cohort that characterizes the natural history of HIV infection among intravenous drug users in Baltimore, MD. Our research in ALIVE ranges from pathogenesis to clinical to behavioral. In particular, I focus on the non-AIDS outcomes of HIV including cancer, liver and lung diseases. I also work on related topics with international collaborators, primarily in Africa. The interaction of viral, environmental and genetic factors is an important determinant in progression of many viral diseases. My research employs genetic, proteomic, and other novel laboratory and imaging methods to help understand and identify individuals at greatest risk for clinically relevant outcomes from HIV, HBV and HCV infections. The long-term goal of this research is to translate these markers into targeted interventions to help reduce the burden from these infections.

Google Scholar

http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=mgRYBCsAAAAJ&hl=en

PubMed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=kirk+gd

Selected Publications

• Kirk GD, Linas BS, Westergaard RP, Piggott D, Bollinger RC, Chang L, Genz A. The EXposure Assessment in Current Time (EXACT) Study: Implementation, feasibility and acceptability of real-time data collection in a community cohort of illicit drug users, AIDS Res Treat, 2013: 594671. PMCID: PMC3836292

• Kirk GD, Mehta SH, Astemborski J, Galai N, Washington J, Higgins Y, Balagopal A, Thomas DL. HIV, age, and the severity of hepatitis C virus-related liver disease. Ann Intern Med, 2013; 158(9): 658-666. PMCID: PMC3708651

• An P, Penugonda S, Thorball CW, Bartha I, Goedert JJ, Donfield S, Buchbinder S, Binns-Roemer E, Kirk GD, Zhang W, Fellay J, Yu XF, Winkler CA. “Role of APOBEC3F gene variation in HIV-1 disease progression and pneumocystis pneumonia.” PLoS Genet. 2016 Mar 4;12(3):e1005921. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005921. eCollection 2016 Mar.

• Drummond MB, Kirk GD. HIV-associated lung disease: Recent insights and implications for the clinician. Lancet Respir Med, 2014; 2(7): 583-92. PMCID: PMC4111094

• Drummond MB, Astemborksi J, Marshall MM, Mehta SH, McDyer JF, Brown RH, Wise RA Merlo CA, Kirk GD. The effect of HIV infection on longitudinal lung function decline: A prospective cohort. AIDS, 2013; 27(8): 1303-1311. PMCID: PMC3953568

• Drummond MB, Astemborski J, Lambert AA, Goldberg S, Stitzer ML, Merlo CA, Rand CS, Wise RA, Kirk GD. A randomized pilot study of contingency management and spirometric lung age for motivating smoking cessation among injection drug users. BMC Public Health, 2014; 28(14):761

• Fischer WA, Drummond MB, Merlo CA, Thomas DL, Brown R, Mehta SH, Wise RA, Kirk GD. Hepatitis C virus infection is not an independent risk factor for obstructive lung disease. COPD, 2014; 11(1): 10-6. PMID: 23862666

• Greene M, Covinsky K, Astemborski J, Piggott DA, Brown T, Leng S, Galai N, Mehta SH, Guralnik J, Patel KV, Kirk GD. The relationship of physical performance with HIV disease and mortality: A cohort study. AIDS; 2014. (In Press)

• Lambert A, Merlo CA, Kirk GD. HIV-associated lung malignancies. Clin Chest Med, 2013; 34(2): 255-272. PMCID: PMC3670780

• Linas BS, Genz A, Westergaard RP, Chang LW, Bollinger RC, Latkin C, Kirk GD. “Ecological momentary assessment of illicit drug use compared to biological and self-reported methods.” JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2016 Mar 15;4(1):e27. doi: 10.2196/mhealth.4470.

• Linas BS, Latkin C, Westergaard RP, Chang LW, Bollinger RC, Genz A, Kirk GD. Capturing illicit drug use where and when it happens: an ecologic momentary assessment of the social, physical and activity environment of using versus craving illicit drugs. Addiction, 2014. (In Press)

• Linton SL, Jennings JJ, Latkin C, Kirk GD, Mehta SH. The association between neighborhood residential rehabilitation and injection drug use in Baltimore, Maryland, 2000-2011. Health & Place, 2014; 28C:142-149. PMID: 24840154

• McLaren PJ, Coulonges C, Bartha I, Lenz TL, Deutsch AJ, Bashirova A, Buchbinder S, Carrington MN, Cossarizza A, Dalmau J, De Luca A, Goedert JJ, Gurdasani D, Haas DW, Herbeck JT, Johnson EO, Kirk GD, Lambotte O, Luo M, Mallal S, van Manen D, Martinez-Picado J, Meyer L, Miro JM, Mullins JI, Obel N, Poli G, Sandhu MS, Schuitemaker H, Shea PR, Theodorou I, Walker BD, Weintrob AC, Winkler CA, Wolinsky SM, Raychaudhuri S, Goldstein DB, Telenti A, de Bakker PI, Zagury JF, Fellay J. “Polymorphisms of large effect explain the majority of the host genetic contribution to variation of HIV-1 virus load.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Nov 24;112(47):14658-63. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1514867112. Epub 2015 Nov 9.

• Patel EU, Cox AL, Mehta SH, Boon D, Mullis CE, Astemborski J, Osburn WO, Quinn J, Redd AD, Kirk GD, Thomas DL, Quinn TC, Laeyendecker O. “Use of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) immunoglobulin G antibody avidity as a biomarker to estimate the population-level incidence of HCV infection.” J Infect Dis. 2016 Jan 14. pii: jiw005. [Epub ahead of print]

• Piggott DA, Muzaale AD, Mehta SH, Brown TT, Leng SX, Kirk GD. Frailty, HIV infection, and mortality in an aging cohort of injection drug users. PLoS One, 2013; 8(1): e54910. PMCID: PMC3561408

• Popescu I, Drummond MB, Gama L, Merlo CA, Astemborski J, Brown RH, Wise RA, Clements JE, Kirk GD, McDyer JF. Activation-induced cell death drives profound lung CD4+ T cell depletion in HIV-associated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 2014. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 25137293.

• Robbins HA, Fennell CE, Gillison M, Xiao W, Guo Y, Wentz A, Kirk GD, Mehta SH, D'Souza G. “Prevalence of and risk factors for oral human papillomavirus infection among HIV-positive and HIV-negative people who inject drugs.” PLoS One. 2015 Nov 24;10(11):e0143698. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143698. eCollection 2015.

• Salter ML, Lau B, Mehta SH, Go VF, Leng S, Kirk GD. Correlates of elevated interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein in persons with or at high-risk for HCV and HIV infections. JAIDS, 2013; 64(5):488-95. PMCID: PMC3848037

• Viswanathan S, Detels R, Mehta SH, Macatangay BJC, Kirk GD, Jacobson LP. Level of adherence and HIV RNA suppression in the current era of highly active antiretroviral therapy. AIDS Behavior; 2014. (In Press)

• Westergaard RP, Hess T, Astemborski J, Mehta SH, Kirk GD. Longitudinal changes in engagement in care and viral suppression for HIV-infected injection drug users. AIDS, 2013; 27(16): 2559-66. PMCID: PMC3795966

Honors

• Elected Fellow, Infectious Diseases Society of America, 1/1/13
• Elected Fellow, American College of Epidemiology, 1/1/12
• Outstanding Teacher Award, Principles of Epidemiology, 1/1/12
• Outstanding Teacher Award, Principles of Epidemiology, 1/1/10
• Gustav J. Martin Innovative Fund for Research on HIV/AIDS Award, 1/1/05
• Thomas and Carol McCann Innovative Fund for Asthma and Respiratory Disease Award, 1/1/05
• Phi Beta Kappa, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 1/1/03
• NIH Fellow's Award for Research Excellence, 1/1/02
• George McCracken Infectious Disease Fellow Award, American Society of Microbiology, 1/1/02
• Visiting Scientist, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1/1/98
• Fellowship for Research Training in Cancer, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1/1/97
• Glaxo-Wellcome Resident Leadership Award for Outstanding Community Service, AMA, 1/1/96
• Delta Omega National Public Health Honor Society, 1/1/95
• American Cancer Society, Physician Training Award in Preventive Medicine, 1/1/94