Graduate Student Research
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August 2011 - July 2017
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Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a devastating human pathogen responsible for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Currently, there is no vaccine capable of treating HIV+ individuals or preventing new infections. Additionally, existing antiretroviral therapies have reduced efficiency against the cell-to-cell form of transmission; a form of spread that significantly reduces the time and space it takes a virus to exit an infected cell and enter an uninfected one. As cell-to-cell transmission is a major player in viral persistence in medicated individuals, a better understanding of the biology allowing cell-to-cell transmission to occur is required to develop better treatments. My doctoral work focused on understanding which portions of the virus were necessary for targeting HIV assembly to the site of contact between the infected and uninfected cells. I discovered that the protein responsible for viral entry into the cell, and linking the infected and uninfected cells together - called Env - must carefully regulate two opposing functions: adhesion and fusion. This regulation is controlled by Env's cytoplasmic tail domain. Furthermore, I uncovered a new function for the viral core protein in regulating Env's ability to cause fusion in cells. For more details, please see my publication here. |
Publications
Zwick, D.B., Grim, J.C., Jarvis, C.M., Prost, L.R., Gardiner, J.C., Sherer, N.M., Kiessling, L.L. 2018. Antigen structure affects cellular routing through DC-SIGN. PNAS. In Revision.
Watters, K.E., Inankur, B., Gardiner, J.C., Warrick, J., Sherer, N.M., Yin, J., Palmenberg, A.C. 2017. "Differential Disruption of Nucleoplasmic Trafficking by Rhinovirus 2A Proteases". doi: 10.1128/JVI.02472-16.
Gardiner, J. C., Mauer, E. J., and Sherer, N. M. 2016. “HIV-1 Gag, Envelope, and Extracellular Determinants Cooperate to Regulate the Stability and Turnover of Virological Synapses” J Virol 90:14 6583-97. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00600-16.
Watters, K.E., Inankur, B., Gardiner, J.C., Warrick, J., Sherer, N.M., Yin, J., Palmenberg, A.C. 2017. "Differential Disruption of Nucleoplasmic Trafficking by Rhinovirus 2A Proteases". doi: 10.1128/JVI.02472-16.
Gardiner, J. C., Mauer, E. J., and Sherer, N. M. 2016. “HIV-1 Gag, Envelope, and Extracellular Determinants Cooperate to Regulate the Stability and Turnover of Virological Synapses” J Virol 90:14 6583-97. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00600-16.
