Jagan Sastry

is a Professor in the Department of immunology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. His group’s research in the broad areas of viral oncology and immunology focuses on understanding the biology, pathology, and genetics of two viral diseases impacting human health: HPV-associated cancers and HIV-induced AIDS. The overall goal of the research is to develop procedures and reagents for prediction, treatment as well as prevention. Over the past 25+ years, Dr. Sastry has led and/or participated in investigator-initiated as well as team-oriented research programs supported by federal, state, industry, and philanthropy funds.

Dr. Sastry’s group has been testing the anti-HIV activity of various proprietary compounds from the oleander plant extract and showed for the first time anti-HIV activity of the Nerium oleander plant extract and demonstrated that this activity is related to the cardiac glycoside oleandrin with a unique mechanism of anti-HIV activity.