Drivers of within-host genetic diversity in acute infections of viruses.

Genetic diversity is the fuel of evolution and facilitates adaptation to novel environments. However, our understanding of what drives differences in the genetic diversity during the early stages of viral infection is somewhat limited. Here, we use ultra-deep sequencing to interrogate 43 clinical samples taken from early infections of the human-infecting viruses HIV, RSV and CMV.

Pathogen receptor discovery with a microfluidic human membrane protein array.

The discovery of how a pathogen invades a cell requires one to determine which host cell receptors are exploited. This determination is a challenging problem because the receptor is invariably a membrane protein, which represents an Achilles heel in proteomics. We have developed a universal platform for high-throughput expression and interaction studies of membrane proteins by creating a microfluidic-based comprehensive human membrane protein array (MPA).

Microfluidic large scale integration of viral-host interaction analysis.

Viral-host interactions represent potential drug targets for novel antiviral strategies (Flisiak et al., Hepatology, 2008, 47, 817-26). Hence, it is important to establish an adequate platform for identifying and analyzing such interactions.

The life of an mRNA in space and time.

Nuclear transcribed genes produce mRNA transcripts destined to travel from the site of transcription to the cytoplasm for protein translation. Certain transcripts can be further localized to specific cytoplasmic regions. We examined the life cycle of a transcribed beta-actin mRNA throughout gene expression and localization, in a cell system that allows the in vivo detection of the gene locus, the transcribed mRNAs and the cytoplasmic beta-actin protein that integrates into the actin cytoskeleton.