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Research
It is estimated that ~20% of all cancers are caused by oncogenic viruses. We study the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), also known as the human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8). KSHV is known to cause several malignancies and lymphoproliferative disorders in the context of immunosuppression (e.g. in people living with HIV/AIDS). Two of these major KSHV-associated cancers are Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) and the aggressive primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), both of which are considered to be AIDS-defining cancers. To date, no vaccines or drugs have been approved to prevent or treat these diseases.
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Our lab aims to understand the molecular mechanisms of viral oncogenesis by KSHV using both molecular and genome-wide approaches. Areas of specific interest include:
Viral factors involved in the survival and proliferation of tumor cells. While the KSHV genome encodes >100 genes, only a subset of these viral genes has been directly studied in the context of PEL. We are using CRISPR screens to systematically interrogate the contributions of coding and non-coding viral transcripts in the survival of PEL tumor cells in a high throughput manner.
PEL-specific oncogenic dependencies. We previously demonstrated that PEL cell lines are addicted to the expression of 210 cellular genes called PEL-specific oncogenic dependencies (Nature Communications, 2018). We are investigating the functions of these PSODs in altering cellular metabolism, cell biology and promoting viral latency and genome maintenance.
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Latest News (for more)
July 9, 2024
- Our review article was just accepted at Current Clinical Microbiology Reports. Congratulations Justine and our collaborators from the Forrest Lab! You can access the article here.
June 3, 2024
- Allie Farrar from Hendrix College starts her Arkansas INBRE Summer Fellowship. She will be working on how MARCHF5 interacts with the pro-apoptotic protein NOXA.
August 1, 2023
- The lab received R21 funding from the National Cancer Institute! We are grateful to the NIH/NCI for continuing to support our research.
May 26, 2023
- We welcome Aly Navarro from UARK Fayetteville as our Arkansas INBRE Summer Fellow!
February 18, 2023
- Our collaborative paper with the Gottwein Laboratory at Northwestern University is now out at Cell Death and Differentiation.