HPV Trafficking

Medical Biology


Challenge
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted virus that causes several types of cancer in men and women. My job was to figure out how HPV infiltrates and infects our cells to reveal potential antiviral strategies.

Outcome
We discovered a protein complex that controls the trafficking of HPV within a host cell. By inhibiting or removing this complex, we were able to block HPV infection.

Impact
The tools I created to study this problem (genetically engineered cells) can be used in a variety of research contexts.

Role
I developed the hypothesis, designed the research methods, performed and optimized experiments, analyzed data, created figures, and published the findings.





HPV is able to enter and travel through our cells, undetected, by hijacking the machinery our cells use to traffic normal cargo, like vitamins and nutrients. To better understand the pathway that HPV hijacks, I used a combination of virology, molecular cell biology, and microscopy to address the question from multiple angles.