Isosurface model of a vesicle filled with nanocages (left) and a cryo-EM reconstruction of a nanocage with the computational design model (green ribbon) fitted into (right)
Isosurface model of a vesicle filled with nanocages (left) and a cryo-EM reconstruction of a nanocage with the computational design model (green ribbon) fitted into (right)
We study the cellular, molecular and structural biology of retroviruses, particularly HIV, and the roles of the ESCRT pathway in cell division and the abscission checkpoint. Major projects in our lab include studies of: 1) HIV budding, 2) designed enveloped nanocages, 3) ESCRT pathway functions in cell division and the abscission checkpoint, and 4) HIV capsid structure, function and restriction, particularly by the TRIM5α innate immune system. Our approaches include NMR, EM, crystallographic and computational studies of viral complexes, identification and biochemical analyses of the interactions between viral components and their cellular partners, and genetic analyses of viral and cellular protein functions. We also take training seriously, and nearly all of the 21 graduate students and 19 postdocs from our lab have gone on to scientific positions in academia and industry. [More...]
