Biophysical Mechanisms of Respiratory Viral Infection and Antiviral Immunity

Abstract

The mucosal tissues of the human airways span an area roughly the size of a tennis court that is under continuous assault from inhaled microbes and particles. Although natural defenses including mucociliary clearance and antibody-mediated protection work in concert to keep the airways sterile, respiratory viruses occasionally overcome these barriers and continue to exert a considerable burden on public health.  Understanding how viruses evade neutralization and clearance in mucosal environments could pave the way for new countermeasures. In this presentation, I will describe our lab’s efforts to understand two distinct aspects of influenza A virus biology in this context: modulation of antibody responses to infection, and mechanisms of entry into the multi-ciliated cells that power mucociliary clearance. In both cases, we identify unexpected points of vulnerability in the host response to infection that suggest new avenues through which it may be possible to limit the spread of respiratory viruses.

Biography

Associate Professor in Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis Michael Vahey combines advanced imaging and protein engineering tools to study how viruses such as influenza interact with mucosal surfaces, are neutralized by antibodies, and infect host cells. His lab’s interdisciplinary work at the interface of engineering and biology advances the understanding of viral entry, immune protection, and viral-vector design for gene therapy and vaccines. A recipient of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface and an NSF CAREER Award, Vahey earned his PhD from MIT and completed postdoctoral training at UC Berkeley before joining WashU’s McKelvey School of Engineering in 2018.