Education
PhD, University of Pennsylvania, 1997
BS, Rutgers University, 1990
Overview
My research interests lie in understanding the interaction of viruses with the respiratory epithelium. Our efforts are primarily focused on influenza A virus and the severe, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), but we have interests in several other viruses including, enterovirus-D68 (EV-D68), Influenza B virus and other emerging viruses.
There are two main focuses to our research program. The first is to understand how how virus proteins target to specific intracellular sites in order to mediate their function or to alter the function of host cell proteins and pathways.
The second research focus of the laboratory is in understanding how viruses interact with respiratory epithelial cells to mediate the early stages of infection. For these studies we utilize animal models of infection, as well as primary cell cultures of respiratory epithelial cells. By identifying the viral proteins that control infection of these specialized epithelial cells, we hope to gain a better understanding of how the virus can establish an infection and identify the key host proteins that play a role in controlling virus replication and the immune response to viral infection.
Honors and Awards
2020 Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology; 2018 President of the American Society for Virology; 2017 Delta Omega Honor Society in Public Health; 2016 Shikani/El Hibri Prize for Discovery and Innovation, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; 2007 Diversity Leadership Award – Faculty, Washington University in St. Louis; 2001-03 Whitaker Foundation, Young Investigator Award; 2001-03 Infectious Diseases Society of America, Wyeth-Lederle Vaccines New Investigator Award; 2001 National Foundation for Infectious Diseases New Investigator Grant; 1995 Joel M. Dalrymple Memorial Award, American Society for Virology; 1989 Selman A. Waksman/David H. Struymeyer Award for Achievement in Biochemistry, Rutgers University