Mentor Areas
Emerging and re-emerging respiratory viruses
Description:
Respiratory viruses have caused the majority of pandemics throughout the human history and my research centers on understanding the factors that influence the generation of pandemic strains. To this end, I have conducted extensive research studies on the various influenza strains in humans, domestic animals, and birds while working with the World Health Organization (WHO) Reference Center for over a decade. This work significantly contributed to understanding of the molecular epidemiology and molecular pathology of different influenza strains and its transmission. During the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) epidemic (mortality 36%), I investigated the origins of MERS-CoV in humans across Saudi Arabia and African Peninsula. My work is one of the first two studies that identified camels as the direct source of human MERS-CoV infections. In collaboration with WHO , Pasteur global network and other global health partners, we conducted molecular epidemiological and molecular pathological studies that detailed MERS-CoV infection in both camels and humans globally. Findings from these studies informed the WHO to implement preventive measures to mitigate MERS-CoV transmission among humans. Currently, we are investigating the prevalence and pathological differences of different MERS-CoV strains in humans, camels, and bats across the Arabian Peninsula and African continent. For this body of work, I was invited to the WHO expert panel on MERS-CoV. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, my studies described the kinetics of live SARS-CoV-2 virus shedding across different age groups and populations that highlighted the need for revised quarantine guidelines. Furthermore we investigated the SARS-CoV-2 infections in domestic animals such as dogs and cats. We are now working on projects to characterize the SARS-CoV-2 variants on concern transmission in the deer population in Pennsylvania.
Preferred Qualifications
Previous biomedical research experience is preferred.
Project Website
Learn more about the researcher and/or the project here. Google Scholar Profile
Details:
Preferred Student Year
First-year, Second-Year
Academic Term
Summer
I prefer to have students start during the above term(s).Volunteer
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to volunteers.Paid
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to paying students they engage in their research, regardless of their work-study eligibility.Work Study
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to hiring work-study-eligible students.