Blake Lash (ZHANG LAB)

Engineering Endogenous Virus-like Proteins for mRNA Delivery

Delivery of gene therapy to target tissues remains an unsolved challenge. Current delivery vehicles consist primarily of viruses and lipid nanoparticles, which have drawbacks including vector immunogenicity. To overcome this we engineered virus-like proteins expressed in the human body to deliver mRNA to target cells. We found the retrotransposon-derived gene PEG10 packages its own mRNA and can be reprogrammed to deliver an mRNA of interest to target cells. We hope this platform will allow for modular, non-immunogenic delivery of gene therapy.

Pablo Cárdenas R. (NILES LAB)

Computational Models Describe Pathogen Evolution Across Fitness Valleys

Genomics has fundamentally changed infectious disease epidemiology. Despite its potential as an applied science, genomic epidemiology lacks tools with which to ask questions about basic principles. To address this, we are developing Opqua, a computational framework for simulating pathogen genetics and evolution in epidemiological models. We apply Opqua to understand fundamental precepts about how pathogens evolve new, distant traits. These insights have implications for public health policy as well as drug and vaccine design.