Investigating the topology of viral surfaces to inform improved therapeutics & vaccines.

Recently, COVID-19 demonstrated that scientists and governments can mobilize quickly to address viral pathogens. However, to be able to rapidly deploy effective antivirals and vaccines, a thorough understanding of virus biology is needed for virus families with the pandemic potential. Since coronaviruses (CoV) have shown a high potential to cause disease in humans, my research seeks to develop new understandings of CoV biology to inform improved treatment and prevention strategies. While SARS-CoV-2 has been well studied, endemic CoV which circulate in populations and cause 30% of annual colds, are less well studied. Improving our understanding of the early virus-to-cell interactions for endemic CoV may help propel vaccine and therapeutic Ab development since these interactions are the targets of potent antibody responses. To this end, in Phase 1 my project will identify key antibodies against the viral spike protein of endemic CoV to inform which targets are most effective to elicit in vaccination. These patient-derived antibodies will be tested in three different laboratory techniques (flow virometry, virus capture and virus neutralization) against the endemic CoV spike protein to develop a thorough understanding of how they perform in different experimental contexts. This project will also assess the role that human proteins on the surface of viruses may play in infection. Importantly, since my lab collaborates closely with industry to produce the Moderna SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, the likelihood that this work can have a translational outcome is high. After completing this work in Phase 1, in Phase 2 my lab will focus on innovating viral diagnostics using the powerful emerging technique flow virometry, and studying emerging viral pathogens to ensure pandemic preparedness. We will also have a strong focus on utilizing the known properties of viruses to seek novel answers for current challenges in agriculture and biotechnology.