BioE Seminar: Confronting the Spatial Biology RNA Therapeutics and RNA Viruses, from Whole Organisms to the Nanoscale

Abstract: As engineers we are trained, early on, to think spatially, starting in physics and calculus. In my lab, we continue to do so, from the nanoscale through the scale of whole organisms, developing imaging tools that allow us to gain information regarding the localization and interaction of molecules during disease pathogenesis and therapeutics that take advantage of local, versus systemic, delivery. Specifically, my group has been interested in the pathogenesis of RNA viruses, including HIV, and the development of tools to elucidate the spatiotemporal dynamics of these infections in vivo and their response to treatment. In addition, we've been developing RNA-based therapeutics for organ-specific delivery, such as in the heart, lungs, and brain. In this seminar, I'll introduce positron emission tomography (PET) contrast agents for interrogating SIV and SHIV infections in the rhesus macaque model, and mRNA-based therapeutics for preventing respiratory infections.