Faculty & Research
Hepatitis B Virus
Image of two overlaid structures of hepatitis B virus. Green is the structure with a drug that promotes virus assembly, the red structure was generated in the absence of drug. The drug causes the virus particle to swell, and the promotion of assembly has an antiviral effect.
Hepatitis C Virus
The hepatitis C virus polymerase, emphasizing the loop that regulates de novo inititation and elongation.
Brome Mosaic Virus
The inside of the brome mosaic virus particle that contacts RNA. The peptides were identified by reversible crosslinking, and peptide fingerprinting by mass spectrometry spectrometry.
Alphavirus
Alphavirus particles budding from an infected cell.
Research Strengths
Virology
We use model systems and human pathogens to contribute to basic and applied research using viruses and their hosts. The questions can be divided into three broad and overlapping areas: 1) virus structure, 2) viral mechanisms, and 3) pathogenesis. The systems used include the Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C, Papilloma viruses, Brome mosaic virus, Sindbis virus, Reovirus and several others.
Virus structure. We use cryoelectron microscopy, crystallography, biochemical and biophysical methods to understand how virus particles assemble and disassemble. The overall goals are to understand how structures affect function, to discover new targets for the design of therapeutics, and to use these basic properties to build better nanotechnology tools.
Viral mechanisms. We use structural, cell-based, molecular, and biochemical methods to understand genome replication and gene expression, virus entry and spread. These areas will contribute to basic understandings of protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions that are essential to life and the design of new antiviral strategies.
Pathogenesis. We use biochemical, molecular, and genetic methods to investigate the activation of host pathways controlling cell-death and innate immune responses by viral molecules or viral processes. These areas will contribute to areas of gene regulation, immunobiology, and the underlying basis for virus-associated and inflammation-associated diseases.
| Faculty Member | Contact | Description |
|---|---|---|
 Pranav Danthi Assistant Professor of Biology Microbiology | pdanthi [at] indiana.edu 812-856-2449 SI 220B | Reovirus-host interactions. |
 Richard Hardy Associate Professor of Biology, Associate Chair of Teaching Microbiology | rwhardy [at] indiana.edu 812-856-0652/6-0649(lab) SI 220E / SI 015 (lab) | Genome functions of RNA viruses and the roles of trans-acting factors. |
 Cheng Kao Adjunct: Professor of Biochemistry | ckao [at] indiana.edu 812-855-7583 SI 205A | Biochemistry of RNA virus infection and innate immunity. |
 Tuli Mukhopadhyay Assistant Professor of Biology Microbiology | sumukhop [at] indiana.edu 812-856-3686/6-3633(lab) SI 220C / SI 019 (lab) | Structure and assembly of enveloped, RNA viruses. |
 Milton Taylor Professor Emeritus of Biology | taymil [at] indiana.edu 812-855-3340 SI 220A | The interferon response in hepatitis C patients. A study using DNA array technology to explain the differences in response to treatment and decrease in viral titer. |
 Adam Zlotnick Adjunct: Professor of Biochemistry | azlotnic [at] indiana.edu 812-856-1925/6-1874 SI 220D/SI 217A | Biophysics of virus assembly related to virus biology, development of antiviral strategies, and construction of virus nanostructures. |