My virology and pathogenesis expertise spans all of the herpesvirus subfamilies (alpha, beta, and gamma). As a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine, I trained in the lab of Dr. Ed Mocarski, a leading expert in CMV research. In the lab of Dr. Peter Doherty, 1996 Nobel laureate, at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, I directed the murine gammaherpesvirus-68 (MHV-68) immunology studies, which lead to 17 publications. I also have research experience in the pharmaceutical industry evaluating antiviral compounds in herpesvirus animal models. Since 2003, I have been Co-PI on a NIH contract award which evaluates new antiviral drugs and vaccines against HSV and CMV and have been PI of multiple large industry contract studies. Relevant to this COBRE application, I have been funded by AHA and NIH to study the role of the CMV-encoded viral GPCRs that activate signaling pathways to promote cell survival and viral persistence. I recently became PI of the LSU SVM NIH COBRE Center for Experimental Infectious Disease Research (CEIDR) when Dr. Gus Kousoulas became PI of the INBRE at LSU. In addition to my CMV research at LSU, my duties include overseeing research and core facilities at LSU SVM. For this COBRE, I will serve as Subcontract PI and Administrative Core Director to achieve the proposed goals.
