Dr. Johnson is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Division of Immunology at the New England Primate Research Centerr.

Dr. Johnson’s research has focused on AIDS immunopathogenesis, hematopoietic stem cells and stem cell gene therapy, and mechanisms of protective immunity in nonhuman primates infected with attenuated SIV strains. More recent research has focused on analysis of innate immunity and characterization of natural killer cell populations in nonhuman primates. His research accomplishments include providing one of the first direct measurements of the magnitude of T cell turnover induced by SIV/HIV infection, identification of a novel hematopoietic stem population, the first demonstration that genes introduced into CD34+ hematopoietic cells can protect progeny T cells from HIV or SIV infection, and detailed characterization of immune responses induced by attenuated SIV vaccines.

Dr. Johnson is the recipient of three national awards in AIDS research, including the Elizabeth Glaser Scientist Award, and is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and a Fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America.