|
Sara
Cherry,
Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Office Address:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
304K Lynch Building
433 South University Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Lab Address: 311 Lynch Building
TEL 215-746-2384
LAB 215-746-2388
FAX 215-746-6697
cherrys@mail.med.upenn.edu
RESEARCH SUMMARY
Research in the Cherry lab is aimed at identifying cellular factors that regulate
viral pathogenesis, including both those factors hijacked by viruses for replication
and those innate anti-viral mechanisms used by the host to combat the invader.
To identify these factors we are taking a genetic approach by screening for
factors that impact viral replication. To this end, we are using the model
genetic organism Drosophila. This allows us to use a wide-variety of techniques
to identify these genes including both high-throughput RNA interference screens
in cell culture, and forward genetic screens in animals. Moreover, we are also
screening for host factors in human cells using high-throughput RNA interference
screening technologies. We are using these approaches to study a number of
arthropod-borne RNA viruses, these are viruses that are transmitted from an
insect to humans. For example, we are studying West Nile virus and Rift Valley
Fever virus, two important human pathogens transmitted by mosquitoes to humans.
By screening in both hosts- insect and human- we hope to gain a more comprehensive
understanding of the host factor requirements of these pathogens. We are currently
characterizing the roles of candidate genes already uncovered by using molecular
biological and cell biological techniques and have discovered factors involved
in viral replication and innate immunity. By combining these methodologies,
and using a variety of viruses, we hope to gain a comprehensive understanding
of the interplay between the host and pathogen in a complex and dynamic setting.
Taking advantage of forward genetics and functional genomics in will allow
us to use these unbiased and global methodologies to identify many important
and novel host factors that modulate virus-host interactions. Moreover, the
more viral-host pairs that we study, the better our understanding of pathways
and processes essential to pathogens, and the more equipped we will be to develop
anti-viral treatments.
Selected Recent Publications
Cherry S, Kunte, A., Wang, H., Coyne, C., Rawson, R., and Perrimon N. (2006).
COPI activity coupled with fatty acid metabolism is required for viral replication.
PLoS Pathogens.
Cherry S and Silverman, N. (2006). Host Pathogen Interactions in Drosophila:
New tricks from an old friend. Nat Immunol. Sept;7(9)911-7.
Cherry S, Doukas T, Armknecht S, Whelan S, Wang H, Sarnow P, Perrimon N. Genome-wide
RNAi screen reveals a specific sensitivity of IRES-containing RNA viruses to
host translation inhibition. Genes Dev. 2005 Feb 15;19(4):445-52.
Cherry S, Perrimon N. Entry is a rate-limiting step for viral infection in a
Drosophila melanogaster model of pathogenesis. Nat Immunol. 2004 Jan;5(1):81-7.
Lab
Rotation Projects
Depending on the interests of the student, there are many possible projects in
the areas of viral-host interactions and innate immunity.
Students are encouraged to contact Dr. Cherry directly.
Lab personnel:
Spencer Shelly- V.M.D., Ph. D. Student
Terri Moser- Ph. D. Student
Leah Sabin- Ph. D. Student
Claire-Marie Filone- joint Ph. D. Student
Patrick Rose- Postdoctoral Fellow
Sheri Hanna- Postdoctoral Fellow
Nina Lukinova- Research Technician
Shelly Bambina- Research Technician
Allison Berman- Research Technician
Yan Hankin- Undergraduate Researcher
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
|
