Sara Cherry, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Office Address:
Department of Microbiology
Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
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. In particular, we are interested in arthropod-borne viruses as these are a common cause of morbidity and mortality in the developing and developed world. Most arboviruses impacting public health fall into three viral families: Flaviviridae, Bunyaviridae and Alphaviridae. These viruses have not only developed highly effective strategies to hijack cellular machinery and to subvert hosts' immune responses, but they have evolved broad host ranges, spanning arthropods and mammals. Whereas infection of the insect host is non-pathogenic, infection of mammals is associated with disease, suggesting that the viruses use different strategies to move through each host. Little is known about the host factors required for the replication cycles of these viruses in either of their host genera, and less is understood about the hosts' innate immune pathways that restrict pathogenesis. We have launched studies on viruses from these three families of arthropod-borne human pathogens; the flavivirus West Nile virus, the bunyavirus Rift Valley Fever virus and the alphavirus Sindbis. 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.

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:
Kaycie Hopkins – IGG Ph.D Student
Jie Xu – CAMB MD/Ph. D Student
Ryan Moy-IGG MD/Ph.D student
Gregory Osborn- CAMB Ph.D student
Sheri Hanna- Postdoctoral Fellow
Debasis Panda-Postdoctoral Fellow
Beth Gold- Technician
Ari Yasunaga- Technician
Harry Subramanian- Technician
Kendrick Chow- Undergraduate Researcher
Veronica Schad- Undergraduate Researcher
Sanjay Menghani- Undergraduate Researcher
Jerome Molleston- Rotation Student