Paper of the Year!

So delighted to learn that our article that describes how SARS-CoV-2 hijacks lipid metabolism pathways has been selected as Paper of the Year by NIH NIEHS.

https://factor.niehs.nih.gov/2023/1/science-highlights/papers-of-the-year

Excited to report our work published in eLife about ESAT-6, a key virulence factor of M. tuberculosis. Importantly, we've developed a nanobody against it, opening new doors to further study the biology of ESAT-6. For more information, please visit this link:
https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/91930#tab-content
Bates TA, Trank-Greene M, Nguyenla X, Anastas A, Merutka IR, Dixon SD, Shumate A, Groncki AR, Parson MA, Barklis E, Burke JE, Shinde U, Ploegh HL, Tafesse FG. bioRxiv. 2023:2023.08.16.553641. doi: 10.1101/2023.08.16.553641.

Our paper that describes a potent alpaca-derived nanobody that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 variants is now published in iScience

So excited to share our new study that is published at JAMA. We show that the immune response of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is age-dependent. Thanks to our Collaborators- the Curlin and Messer lab. Here is the link to the Article.

High-level recognition for our research

Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, called out our findings that show people previously infected with the novel coronavirus stand to get a much greater benefit of protection against new variants if they’re vaccinated. Watch the White House briefing from May 4 (he shares our work about 14 minutes into the full video).

In collaboration with the lab of Eric Barklis we published a new study in the Virology Journal. We showed that nanobodies that bind the HIV-1 Capsid protein block viral assembly and infectivity. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of targeting HIV proteins, including the Gag/Capsid, with nanobodies to inhibit HIV-1 infection. Here is the link to the Article.

Our pre-print that shows the escape of SARS-CoV-2 variants (UK/B.1.1.7 and South Africa/B.1.351) from humoral immunity elicited by vaccine and natural infections is now in medRxiv.

From TB to COVID-19: An OHSU lab uses alpaca antibodies to shift gears

Zika Virus: Master Membrane Manipulator. Click here to read our blog.

Our paper that describes the role of Sphingolipids in the entry of M. tuberculosis is now accepted for publication in mBio.  See the accepted manuscript in Biorxiv.

Congratulations to the Tafesse lab. They've received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their research project, Nanobodies as a Targeted-Therapeutic Against Mtb. 

Professor Tafesse is featured as part of OHSU's Onward campaign.

Flaviviruses, such as Zika and Dengue virus, manipulate the lipid content of host cells to replicate and cause disease. Read our new review.