Dr. Mostafa Nokta received his M.D. from the University of Alexandria and an M.Sc. in Public Health and Preventive Medicine from the University of Cairo in his native Egypt. He holds a doctorate in microbiology and virology from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston.
Dr. Nokta was previously on the faculty of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the UTMB in Galveston, Texas. Dr. Nokta came to the NCI from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, where he served as the AIDS coordinator for the Institute and as Director of the AIDS and Immunosuppression Program in the Extramural Division. In this capacity, he developed several initiatives on HIV vaccines and AIDS-related oral complications, including cancer.
A viral immunologist by training, Dr. Nokta’s career has focused on HIV/AIDS pathogenesis and HIV-related opportunistic viral infections including human cytomegalovirus (CMV). His laboratory at UTMB spanned several areas of interest. In attempts to understand the underlying mechanisms of immunosuppression and refraction of lymphocytes from HIV-infected patients to foreign antigens, he focused on studying transmembrane signaling pathways and second messenger regulation of lymphocytes, apoptosis, compartmentalization of the immune response, thymus function, and lymphocyte trafficking in HIV-infected subjects and their relationship to HIV disease. He evaluated state of the art anti-HIV and anti-CMV therapeutics, their efficacy, pharmacokinetics, adverse events, and the emergence of drug resistant HIV viral isolates.
He has served as the site virologist/immunologist for several NIH-sponsored clinical studies conducted by the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) and also served on multiple ACTG committees. Dr. Nokta is a member of several national and international scientific societies.