Yoav Keynan MD, PhD

Dr. Yoav Keynan is an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology at the University of Manitoba and an infectious diseases consultant for the Manitoba HIV Program. He is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Nairobi in Medical Microbiology and is acting as the co-scientific Director in the National Collaborating Center for Infectious Diseases.

He earned his medical degree at Ben-Gurion University in Israel and followed with specializations in internal medicine at the Israel Institute and infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba. He then went on to obtain his Ph.D., focusing on medical microbiology, at the University of Manitoba.

He has two primary research interests. The first is the study of the immunogenetic determinants of HIV disease progression and the effect of anti-inflammatory interventions on immune reconstitution. The second is the study of innate and immune responses to influenza infection and vaccination. He is also interested in the clinical management of infectious diseases, pyogenic liver abscess caused by hyper much viscous klebsiella, as well as HIV care and management of opportunistic infections.

Dr. Kenyan is a principal investigator for CTNPT 004, a pilot trial looking at the effect of an individual’s genetic make-up on the progression and transmission of HIV. The study will explore the role of HLA alleles, a group of human genes that help the immune system distinguish the body’s own proteins from proteins made by invaders such as viruses and bacteria. He has also contributed to several CTN research publications.