Research/Areas of Interest
Our lab studies the mechanism by which viruses maximize their replicative output. A strategy that many viruses use to maximize replicative output is the formation of replication compartments. The establishment of replication compartments is critical for the production of infectious virions. These compartments house and organize all the viral machinery essential for virion propagation. Furthermore, these compartments act as bunkers to defend against the host innate immune response and selectively concentrate host factors needed for replication.
To study viral replication compartments our group uses Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), an oncogenic virus, as a model system. While the herpesvirus community has been successful in determining the core proteins involved in assembling viral replication compartments. It remains unclear what are the key molecular drivers of replication compartment formation and dynamics. Furthermore, how do these structures influence organization of viral machinery, and defend again host innate immune responses is unknown.
We are taking a three-prong approach to tackle replication compartment biology. By leveraging our expertise in molecular virology, biochemistry, and chemical genetics. Our multidisciplinary approach work will provide the foundation for the identification of novel linchpin interactions of viral replication compartments. Furthermore, the tools and methods generated by our work will provide our field with new approaches to study viral replication compartments.
Education
- PhD, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States, 2015
- BSc, University of California - Irvine, Irvine, California, USA, 2009