Virology | Research Interests

Name	Email	PhD Program
Schrank, Travis EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Pathobiology & Translational Science RESEARCH INTEREST Bioinformatics, Biophysics, Cancer Biology, Cancer Signaling & Biochemistry, Chemical Biology, Computational Biology, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Genomics, Molecular Biology, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Translational Medicine, Virology	I am a surgeon-scientist specialized in head and neck cancers. My goal is to address translationalquestions with genomic data and bioinformatic methods, as well as benchtop experimentation. My clinical practice as a head and neck cancer surgeon also influences my research by helping me seek solutions to problems that will directly inform gaps in the current treatment protocols. I have developed a strong interest in HPV genomics as well as HPV/host genome integrations, as these factors are intrinsically related to transcriptional diversity and patient outcomes in HPV-associated head and neck cancers. Our work has helped to demonstrate that a novel mechanism of HPV-mediated oncogenesis requiring NF-kB activation is present in nearly 50% of oropharyngeal tumors. In this vein, we are aggressively investigating the cellular interplay between the NF-kB pathway and persistent HPV infection, tumor radiation response, NRF2 signaling, and more. Another outgrowth of this work has been investigating APOBEC3B and its non-canonical roles in regulating transcription. Our preliminary work has demonstrated that APOBEC3B has surprisingly strong transcriptional effects in HPV+ HNSCC cells and may promote oncogenesis and tumor maintenance by suppressing the innate immune response and influencing the HPV viral lifecycle. Our group also have a strong interest in translational genomic studies. Our group is working to develop methods that will make gene expression-based biomarkers more successful in the clinic, as well as studying many aspects of genomic alterations that contribute to the development of squamous cell carcinomas.
Chung, Kay WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Cell Biology & Physiology RESEARCH INTEREST Bioinformatics, Cancer Biology, Cancer Immunology, Cancer Signaling & Biochemistry, Chemical Biology, Computational Biology, Gene Therapy, Immunology, Molecular Biology, Signal Transduction, Systems Biology, Translational Medicine, Virology	The Chung lab is engineering immune cells, particularly T cells, to achieve maximum therapeutic efficacy at the right place and timing. We explore the crossroads of synthetic biology, immunology, and cancer biology. Particularly, we are employing protein engineering, next-gen sequencing, CRISPR screening, and bioinformatics to achieve our objectives: (1) Combinatorial recipes of transcription factors for T cell programming. (2) Technologies for temporal regulation and/or rewiring of tumor and immune signal activation (chemokine, nuclear, inhibitor receptors). (3) Synthetic oncolytic virus for engineering tumor-T cell crosstalk.
Ott, Isabel EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Evolutionary Biology, Pathogenesis & Infection, Virology	“I’m interested in understanding what drives vector-borne virus transition between endemic and epidemic transmission cycles, including virus evolution, ecology, epidemiology, and pathogenesis. I hope to focus on arboviruses endemic to North America, and the ways eco-epidemiological change has shaped disease burdens in these largely understudied viruses.”
Robles, Celeste EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Pathogenesis & Infection, Pathology, Virology	“Pathogenesis and pathology are the areas of research I find myself most interested in. I’m interested in researching the cellular and molecular mechanisms of disease, especially a disease that disproportionately affects underrepresented populations. I have a broad range of diseases I’d be open to researching!”
Landis, Justin EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Virology	“I am passionate about developing new tools or models for visualizing and analyzing biological data. I am interested in understanding the pathogenesis of cancer-causing viruses through various NGS technologies.”
Weight, Abbie EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Pathogenesis & Infection, Translational Medicine, Virology	“I am interested in virus-host interactions, viral pathogenesis, and understanding how host immunity controls or contributes to pathogenesis. I am particularly interested in working with arboviruses.”
Bhatt, Urja EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Bacteriology, Immunology, Virology	“1) Viral and non-viral Gene therapy 2) Applying single-cell multi-omics technology to learn about gene expression during viral infection and disease pathology 3) Infectious diseases and development of novel vaccine platforms”
Alam, Ida EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Immunology, Pathogenesis & Infection, Virology	“In graduate school, I would like to deepen my knowledge of molecular virology, host-pathogen interaction, immune homeostasis, immune memory generation, and immune response to viral infection and cancer.”
DiMaulo-Milk, Emily EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Bacteriology, Immunology, Virology	“I’m interested in understanding the mechanism by which pathogens cause disease and evade immune response. Ultimately, I am hoping to provide the foundation for improving current therapeutics designed to combat viral infection.”
Khetan, Pri EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Pathogenesis & Infection, Virology	“I am interested in understanding the various host and viral factors involved in the establishment and persistence of viral infections. Another avenue I want to explore involves harnessing the immune system and host factors essentially for viral pathogenesis to clear infections.”

Research Interest: Virology