Lab Members

Email: odisse@chem.ucla.edu

Projects: in cellulo reconstituted therapeutic-replicon-containing Sindbis virus-like particles for targeted gene delivery; persistent Sindbis replicons and persistent-Sindbis-replicon-expressing cell evolution, quantified by full-length-read deep sequencing of RNA through successive cell passaging; genetic modification of Sindbis glycoproteins to provide biotin-binding site and to abrogate natural host range, for in vivo gene delivery using Sindbis virus-like particles; synthesis of Sindbis-replicon-containing TMV virus-like particles in mammalian cells; CAR-transformation of T cells against drug-resistant bacteria

Email: analuisa.duranmeza@gmail.com 

Projects: in vitro synthesis of enveloped virus-like particles (EVLPs); RNA compaction by polyvalent cations; in vitro reconstitution of heterologous RNA in cylindrical versus spherical virus-like particles; in cellulo reconstituted therapeutic-replicon-containing Sindbis virus-like particles for targeted gene delivery; "phase diagram" of the polymorphs formed by BMV capsid protein over full ranges of pH and ionic strength; in vitro synthesis of micro-RNA-containing virus-like particles for mRNA gene knockdown; quantification of in cis versus in trans RNA replication

Email: davidsilverio@chem.ucla.edu

Projects: quantification of in cis versus in trans RNA replication; targeted delivery of constitutively-active cell-killing peptides in self-amplifying mRNA form; baculovirus transformation of insect cell for production of insect-virus-replicon-containing TMV virus-like particles; in vitro synthesis of micro-RNA-containing virus-like particles for mRNA gene knockdown; in cellulo reconstituted therapeutic-replicon-containing Sindbis virus-like particles for targeted gene delivery; in vitro translation experiments – protein synthesis and VLP formation

Email: nharpell@ucla.edu

Projects: site-specific conjugation of protein ligands using cysteine-maleimide/click-chemistry bifunctional linkers; labeling of 5', 3', or both ends of long RNA molecules with 2nm-gold particles, for cryoEM imaging; high resolution cryoEM reconstruction of the ends of TMV virus-like particles, to elucidate their co-translational disassembly; "phase diagram" of the polymorphs formed by BMV capsid protein over full ranges of pH and ionic strength; quantifying the relative replication rates of mammalian and insect viral replicons in different mammalian cells

Email: noerod1317@g.ucla.edu

Projects:  in vitro reconstitution of CARmRNA-containing CCMV virus-like particles for in vivo transformation of killer T cells against HIV infected cells and blood cancers; design and synthesis of single-chain fragment variable (scFv) and Fab fragment antibodies for specific uptake of these virus-like particles by cytotoxic T cells; site-specific conjugation of targeting antibodies to viral capsids; in vivo transformation of macrophages with CARs against amyloid fibrils

Email: taylordk@g.ucla.edu

Projects: design and synthesis of self-replicating forms of pre- and mature microRNAs (miRNAs), for enhanced knockdown of target mRNAs; in vitro packaging of "bare" miRNAs, and of replicon forms of them, in virus-like particles for in vivo delivery

Email: alyssacruz55@g.ucla.edu

Projects: mass spectrometry determination of the effects of RNA replication and of viral structural proteins on the proteome of cells infected with: Sindbis virus; a persistent (more slowly replicating) form of the viral genome; the Sindbis replicon, i.e., genome with structural proteins deleted; and a persistent (more slowly replicating) form of the replicon

Email: jayhu5027@g.ucla.edu

Projects: design and synthesis of a broad range of in vitro reconstituted mRNA-containing TMV and CCMV virus-like-vaccine particles that introduce antigenic nucleic acid and protein in several combinations involving intact proteins conjugated to the outside VLP scaffold and/or mRNA coding for antigenic protein, with the goal of tuning and quantifying in mouse models the antibody and T-cell responses to these different "hybrid"/"chimeric" vaccine particles

Email: gbitting@g.ucla.edu

Projects: synthesis in mammalian cells of TMV virus-like particles, containing a self-replicating gene of interest, in the context of a Sindbis replicon, with the goal of conjugating these VLPs to targeting antibodies for in vivo gene delivery

Email: ztching@g.ucla.edu

Projects: in vitro translation systems for directing the synthesis of BMV virus-like particles containing the mRNA that is translated to yield the capsid protein that packages it; the goal is to study viral self-assembly in the context of cytoplasmic extract and freshly synthesized capsid protein, to be compared with in vitro and in cellulo syntheses

Email: nono2faults@g.ucla.edu

Projects: quantifying the relative levels of replication of RNA molecules that code for RNA-dependent-RNA-polymerases (RdRps) – and that therefore can be replicated "in cis" by them – and ones that are purely templates for the RdRps and can only be replicated "in trans" by them

Email: neelanp@g.ucla.edu

Projects: pegylation of in vitro reconstituted virus-like particles for purposes of lowering their immunogenicity

Email: jar3d@g.ucla.edu

Projects: quantify the relative replication rates of mammalian (Sindbis) and insect (Nodamura) viral replicons in different mammalian cells, to provide a basis for choosing between them in constructing self-amplifying forms of therapeutic genes of interest for in vivo delivery