Scott W. Wong, Ph.D.

  • Professor, VGTI-Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute
  • Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Graduate Program, School of Medicine
  • Program in Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Wong received his Ph.D. from Stanford University School of Medicine in 1987 studying eukaryotic DNA replication. Upon completing his degree he performed post-doctoral research at Stanford University and later at Harvard Medical School, where he focused on human herpesvirus replication and pathogenesis. He came to the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center in 1991 as an Assistant Scientist in the Division of Pathobiology and Immunology, and is now a Senior Scientist and interim Division Chief. Dr. Wong’s primary appointment is in the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, where he is a Senior Scientist and a Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology in the OHSU School of Medicine.

Understanding how viruses cause disease is important to the development of effective antiviral therapies and potential vaccines. 

The long-term goal of the Wong laboratory is to understand how viruses cause disease. This is important in developing effective antiviral therapies and potential vaccines. The Wong lab is currently investigating two types of viruses: orthopoxviruses, which induce disease similar to smallpox; and herpesviruses, which can induce severe disease in individuals. Some of these viruses are very specific for their natural hosts, a factor that complicates the ability to study the mechanisms of the human viruses in an animal model. An alternative approach is to utilize animal models that harbor viruses that are closely related to the human virus. One animal model that has proven to be invaluable in understanding the mechanisms of infectious disease and for vaccine development is the nonhuman primate. 

By employing molecular, genetic and virological techniques, members of Dr. Wong’s laboratory examine how these nonhuman primate viruses infect and replicate in cell culture and eventually how they cause illnesses in vivo. They have shown that experimental inoculation of normal monkeys with orthopoxviruses causes disease that is virtually identical to smallpox and have identified novel viral proteins utilizing proteomic analysis that may facilitate disease. Additionally, experimental infection of immunocompromised monkeys with simian herpesviruses results in disease manifestations that closely resemble those observed in humans infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Utilizing these techniques they are identifying the viral determinants that contribute to disease and are devising novel recombinant molecules to help prevent viral pathogenesis.

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • Ph.D., 1987, Stanford University School of Medicine

Areas of interest

  • HIV pathogenesis and vaccine development

Publications

Selected publications

  • Skalsky RL, Barr SA, Jeffery AJ, Blair T, Estep R, Wong SW. Japanese Macaque Rhadinovirus Encodes a Viral MicroRNA Mimic of the miR-17 Family. JVirol. 2016 Sep 29;90(20):9350-63. doi: 10.1128/JVI.01123-16. PMID: 27512057, PMCID: PMC5044857
  • Blair TC, Manoharan M, Rawlings-Rhea SD, Tagge I, Kohama SG,Hollister-Smith J, Ferguson B, Woltjer RL, Frederick MC, Pollaro J, Rooney WD,Sherman LS, Bourdette DN, Wong SW. Immunopathology of Japanese macaque encephalomyelitis is similar to multiple sclerosis. J Neuroimmunol. 2016 Feb15;291:1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2015.11.026. PMID: 26857488, PMCID: PMC4748211
  • Morin G, Robinson BA, Rogers KS, Wong SW.;A Rhesus Rhadinovirus Viral Interferon (IFN) Regulatory Factor Is Virion Associated and Inhibits the Early IFN Antiviral Response. J Virol. 2015 Aug;89(15):7707-21.doi: 10.1128/JVI.01175-15. PMID: 25972548, PMCID: PMC4505633

Publications

  • Generation of chimeric forms of rhesus macaque rhadinovirus expressing KSHV envelope glycoproteins gH and gL for utilization in an NHP model of infection

    Journal of virology
    1. Ryan D. Estep
    2. Helen Li
    3. Aparna N. Govindan
    4. Kaidlyn A. McDonald
    5. Michael K. Axthelm
    6. Scott W. Wong

  • Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) gB dictates a low-pH endocytotic entry pathway as revealed by a dual-fluorescent virus system and a rhesus monkey rhadinovirus expressing KSHV gB

    PLoS pathogens
    1. Shanchuan Liu
    2. Sarah Schlagowski
    3. Anna K. Großkopf
    4. Natalia Khizanishvili
    5. Xiaoliang Yang
    6. Scott W. Wong
    7. Elina M. Guzmán
    8. Marija Backovic
    9. Stefano Scribano
    10. Arne Cordsmeier
    11. Armin Ensser
    12. Alexander S. Hahn

  • Multivalent MVA-vectored vaccine elicits EBV neutralizing antibodies in rhesus macaques that reduce EBV infection in humanized mice

    Frontiers in immunology
    1. Gabriela M. Escalante
    2. Ivana G. Reidel
    3. Lorraine Z. Mutsvunguma
    4. Simeon Cua
    5. Brenda A. Tello
    6. Esther Rodriguez
    7. Mafalda A. Farelo
    8. Cloe Zimmerman
    9. Murali Muniraju
    10. He Li
    11. Aparna N. Govindan
    12. Michael K. Axthelm
    13. Scott W. Wong
    14. Javier Gordon Ogembo

  • Rapamycin limits CD4+ T cell proliferation in simian immunodeficiency virus-infected rhesus macaques on antiretroviral therapy

    Journal of Clinical Investigation
    1. Benjamin D. Varco-Merth
    2. William Brantley
    3. Alejandra Marenco
    4. Derick D. Duell
    5. Devin N. Fachko
    6. Brian Richardson
    7. Kathleen Busman-Sahay
    8. Danica Shao
    9. Walter Flores
    10. Kathleen Engelman
    11. Yoshinori Fukazawa
    12. Scott W. Wong
    13. Rebecca L. Skalsky
    14. Jeremy Smedley
    15. Michael K. Axthelm
    16. Jeffrey D. Lifson
    17. Jacob D. Estes
    18. Paul T. Edlefsen
    19. Louis J. Picker
    20. Cheryl M.A. Cameron
    21. Timothy J. Henrich
    22. Afam A. Okoye

  • Membrane-associated and secreted forms of the rhesus macaque rhadinovirus-encoded CD200 homologue and cellular CD200 demonstrate differential effects on rhesus macaque CD200 receptor signaling and regulation of myeloid cell activation

    Journal of virology
    1. Ryan D. Estep
    2. Aparna N. Govindan
    3. Kristin Fitzpatrick
    4. Tiffany C. Blair
    5. S. A.Rahim Rezaee
    6. David J. Blackbourn
    7. Scott W. Wong

  • MRI characteristics of Japanese macaque encephalomyelitis

    Journal of Neuroimaging
    1. Ian J. Tagge
    2. Steven G. Kohama
    3. Larry S. Sherman
    4. Dennis N. Bourdette
    5. Randall Woltjer
    6. Paul Wang
    7. Scott W. Wong
    8. William D. Rooney

  • Myelin-specific T cells in animals with Japanese macaque encephalomyelitis

    Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology
    1. Aparna N. Govindan
    2. Kristin S. Fitzpatrick
    3. Minsha Manoharan
    4. Ian Tagge
    5. Steven G. Kohama
    6. Betsy Ferguson
    7. Samuel M. Peterson
    8. Grayson S. Wong
    9. William D. Rooney
    10. Byung Park
    11. Michael K. Axthelm
    12. Dennis N. Bourdette
    13. Larry S. Sherman
    14. Scott W. Wong

  • Molecular analysis of lymphoid tissue from rhesus macaque rhadinovirus-infected monkeys identifies alterations in host genes associated with oncogenesis

    PloS one
    1. Ryan Douglas Estep
    2. Aparna N. Govindan
    3. Minsha Manoharan
    4. He Li
    5. Suzanne S. Fei
    6. Byung S. Park
    7. Michael K. Axthelm
    8. Scott W. Wong

  • Rhesus macaque rhadinovirus encodes a viral interferon regulatory factor to disrupt promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies and antagonize type I interferon signaling

    Journal of virology
    1. Laura K. Springgay
    2. Kristin Fitzpatrick
    3. Byung Park
    4. Ryan D. Estep
    5. Scott W. Wong

  • Role of IL-15 signaling in the pathogenesis of simian immunodeficiency virus infection in rhesus macaques

    Journal of Immunology
    1. Afam A. Okoye
    2. Maren Q. DeGottardi
    3. Yoshinori Fukazawa
    4. Mukta Vaidya
    5. Chike O. Abana
    6. Audrie L. Konfe
    7. Devin N. Fachko
    8. Derick M. Duell
    9. He Li
    10. Richard Lum
    11. Lina Gao
    12. Byung S. Park
    13. Rebecca L. Skalsky
    14. Anne D. Lewis
    15. Michael K. Axthelm
    16. Jeffrey D. Lifson
    17. Scott W. Wong
    18. Louis J. Picker

  • Gammaherpesvirus infection and malignant disease in rhesus macaques experimentally infected with SIV or SHIV

    PLoS pathogens
    1. Vickie A. Marshall
    2. Nazzarena Labo
    3. Xing Pei Hao
    4. Benjamin Holdridge
    5. Marshall Thompson
    6. Wendell Miley
    7. Catherine Brands
    8. Vicky Coalter
    9. Rebecca Kiser
    10. Miriam Anver
    11. Yelena Golubeva
    12. Andrew Warner
    13. Elaine S. Jaffe
    14. Michael Piatak
    15. Scott W. Wong
    16. Claes Ohlen
    17. Rhonda MacAllister
    18. Jeremy Smedley
    19. Claire Deleage
    20. Gregory Q. Del Prete
    21. Jeffrey D. Lifson
    22. Jacob D. Estes
    23. Denise Whitby

  • Immunopathology of Japanese macaque encephalomyelitis is similar to multiple sclerosis

    Journal of Neuroimmunology
    1. Tiffany C. Blair
    2. Minsha Manoharan
    3. Stephanie D. Rawlings-Rhea
    4. Ian Tagge
    5. Steven G. Kohama
    6. Julie Hollister-Smith
    7. Betsy Ferguson
    8. Randall L. Woltjer
    9. Meredith C. Frederick
    10. James Pollaro
    11. William D. Rooney
    12. Larry S. Sherman
    13. Dennis N. Bourdette
    14. Scott W. Wong

  • Japanese macaque rhadinovirus encodes a viral microRNA mimic of the miR-17 family

    Journal of virology
    1. Rebecca L. Skalsky
    2. Sarah A. Barr
    3. Andrew J. Jeffery
    4. Tiffany Blair
    5. Ryan Estep
    6. Scott W. Wong

  • A rhesus rhadinovirus viral interferon (IFN) regulatory factor is virion associated and inhibits the early IFN antiviral response

    Journal of virology
    1. Gabriela Morin
    2. Bridget A. Robinson
    3. Kelsey S. Rogers
    4. Scott W. Wong

  • A simian hemorrhagic fever virus isolate from persistently infected baboons efficiently induces hemorrhagic fever disease in Japanese macaques

    Virology
    1. Heather A. Vatter
    2. Eric F. Donaldson
    3. Jeremy Huynh
    4. Stephanie Rawlings
    5. Minsha Manoharan
    6. Alfred Legasse
    7. Shannon Planer
    8. Mary F. Dickerson
    9. Anne D. Lewis
    10. Lois M.A. Colgin
    11. Michael K. Axthelm
    12. Jerilyn K. Pecotte
    13. Ralph S. Baric
    14. Scott W. Wong
    15. Margo A. Brinton

  • BoHV-4-based vector single heterologous antigen delivery protects STAT1(-/-) mice from monkeypoxvirus lethal challenge

    PLoS neglected tropical diseases
    1. Valentina Franceschi
    2. Scott Parker
    3. Sarah Jacca
    4. Ryan W. Crump
    5. Konstantin Doronin
    6. Edguardo Hembrador
    7. Daniela Pompilio
    8. Giulia Tebaldi
    9. Ryan D. Estep
    10. Scott W. Wong
    11. Mark R. Buller
    12. Gaetano Donofrio

  • T Cell Inactivation by Poxviral B22 Family Proteins Increases Viral Virulence

    PLoS pathogens
    1. Dina Alzhanova
    2. Erika Hammarlund
    3. Jason Reed
    4. Erin Meermeier
    5. Stephanie Rawlings
    6. Caroline A. Ray
    7. David M. Edwards
    8. Ben Bimber
    9. Alfred Legasse
    10. Shannon Planer
    11. Jerald Sprague
    12. Michael K. Axthelm
    13. David J. Pickup
    14. David M. Lewinsohn
    15. Marielle C. Gold
    16. Scott W. Wong
    17. Jonah B. Sacha
    18. Mark K. Slifka
    19. Klaus Früh

  • The rhesus rhadinovirus CD200 homologue affects immune responses and viral loads during in vivo infection

    Journal of virology
    1. Ryan D. Estep
    2. Stephanie D. Rawlings
    3. Helen Li
    4. Minsha Manoharan
    5. Elizabeth T. Blaine
    6. Megan A. O'Connor
    7. Ilhem Messaoudi
    8. Michael K. Axthelm
    9. Scott W. Wong

  • Genomic characterization of japanese macaque rhadinovirus, a novel herpesvirus isolated from a nonhuman primate with a spontaneous inflammatory demyelinating disease

    Journal of virology
    1. Ryan D. Estep
    2. Scott G. Hansen
    3. Kelsey S. Rogers
    4. Michael K. Axthelm
    5. Scott W. Wong

  • Neisseria infection of rhesus macaques as a model to study colonization, transmission, persistence, and horizontal gene transfer

    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
    1. Nathan J. Weyand
    2. Anne M. Wertheimer
    3. Theodore R. Hobbs
    4. Jennifer L. Sisko
    5. Nyiawung A. Taku
    6. Lindsay D. Gregston
    7. Susan Clary
    8. Dustin L. Higashi
    9. Nicolas Biais
    10. Lewis M. Brown
    11. Shannon L. Planer
    12. Alfred W. Legasse
    13. Michael K. Axthelm
    14. Scott W. Wong
    15. Magdalene So

  • Viral interferon regulatory factors are critical for delay of the host immune response against rhesus macaque rhadinovirus infection

    Journal of virology
    1. Bridget A. Robinson
    2. Megan A. O'connor
    3. He Li
    4. Flora Engelmann
    5. Britt Poland
    6. Richard Grant
    7. Victor Defilippis
    8. Ryan D. Estep
    9. Michael K. Axthelm
    10. Ilhem Messaoudi
    11. Scott W. Wong

  • Viral interferon regulatory factors decrease the induction of type I and type II interferon during rhesus macaque rhadinovirus infection

    Journal of virology
    1. Bridget A. Robinson
    2. Ryan D. Estep
    3. Ilhem Messaoudi
    4. Kelsey S. Rogers
    5. Scott W. Wong