This summer, we welcome our newest MolBio rotation student, Michael Schwoerer!

Michael graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2019 with a BA in Biology, a concentration in Mechanisms of Disease, and a minor in Biophysics. His previous experience includes research into viral egress of Lassa, Ebola and Marburg viruses as well as small molecule inhibitors of HIV budding. Now that he’s in the Ploss lab, Michael is excited to learn more about factors that modify tissue and host tropism for positive sense, single stranded viruses.

Says Michael, “I’ve always been interested in RNA viruses! Apart from their sociological/historical importance, they are among the most incredible entities in biology. With only a handful of genes, they routinely hijack and conquer organisms of infinitely greater complexity.”

During his rotation, Michael hopes to combine virology with biochemistry, biophysics and mathematical modeling. Welcome to the lab, Michael!

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ploss Lab has teamed up with the MacMillan Group to identify cellular host factors that facilitate viral entry of SARS-CoV-2. This collaboration was highlighted by a Princeton University press release, found here. The article quotes Alex as saying:

Viruses are highly dependent on a multitude of host factors to go through their infection cycles, and SARS-CoV-2 is no exception. Many of these cellular factors are not yet defined for SARS-CoV-2. Any one of such host factors could represent a target for therapeutic intervention. We aim to define precisely which molecules SARS-CoV-2 interacts with during viral uptake and during viral replication.

Since SARS-CoV-2 can only be handled under very strict biosafety conditions, two Ploss Lab postdocs, Tomokazu Tamura and Saori Suzuki, have been preparing a SARS-CoV-2 pseudoparticle, which retains a similar molecular composition as the normal virus but is non-infectious. Combining this pseudoparticle with the MacMillan group’s µMap technology, the project aims to investigate how SARS-CoV-2 might attach to, enter, and act within cells.

Outside of this collaboration, the Ploss Lab has received funding from Princeton University for several other projects related to COVID-19. Among them are efforts to screen FDA-approved compounds against SARS-CoV-2, explore a potential vaccine strategy, and develop a strain of mice permissive to infection by SARS-CoV-2 that could serve as a model for future preclinical drug testing.

Saori Suzuki (left) and Tomokazu Tamura (right) prepare SARS-CoV-2 pseudoparticles, as highlighted in the Princeton University press release.  

On December 5^th, Alex presented a lecture titled “Hitting viruses where it hurts:New insights in replicative mechanisms of hepatitis B and C viruses” in the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Alex was really impressed with the fantastic infrastructure and set of the Co-HEP Center. Thank you very much to Jens Bukh, Troels Scheels and colleagues for their hospitality.

On December 1^st, we welcomed our newest post-doc to the lab; Dr. Saori Suzuki! Saori joins the Ploss Lab with an extensive background in virology: she completed her dissertation work at Kyoto University (Japan) on the development of vaccines against hepatitis C virus, followed by postdoctoral positions at Shiga University of Medical Science (Japan) and University of Pennsylvania researching influenza and respiratory viruses. Here in the Ploss Lab, she will be investigating restriction factors in hepatitis C virus replication. Saori came to the United States recently, and she is excited to experience and learn more about American culture. We are thrilled to have you in the lab Saori, and to celebrate many American holidays together!