Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology July
Issue #6/Summer 2017
The UF College of Medicine recently announced five faculty members that have been appointed to UF Research Foundation (UFRF) Professorships for 2017. These awards, given to tenured faculty who have a distinguished record of research, aim to recognize professors for their recent contributions and provide incentives for continued excellence in research.
The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is pleased to congratulate Dr. Suming Huang, Professor, in receiving this distinguished honor!
The primary selection criteria includes the professor’s performance in the past five years and evidence of a strong research agenda that is likely to lead to continuing distinction in the professor’s field.
At the conclusion of the three-year UFRF Professorship term, the recipients will provide a short report to the Vice President for Research reviewing their accomplishments during the period they held the award and their expectations for the future.
The four additional recipients of this award are –
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Stephanie M. Karst, Ph.D. | Associate Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Barry J. Byrne, M.D., Ph.D. | Professor
Michael J. Haller, M.D. | Professor
Desmond A. Schatz, M.D. | Professor
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STUDENT NEWS AND AWARDS
Bronze Award:
Rosha Poudyal | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mentor: Michael Kladde, PhD
The Epigenomes of Latent and Lytic Kaposi’s Sarcoma-
Associated Herpesvirus
Council of Academic Chairs Scholarship Recipient:
Carrie Lomelino | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mentor: Robert McKenna, PhD
Advancement to Candidacy Award Recipients Avni Bhatt | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Mentor: Robert McKenna, PhD
Carrie Lomelino | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mentor: Robert McKenna, PhD
Kristen Solocinski, Ph.D. Graduate Student, was selected to
receive an American Physiological Society (APS) Caroline tum Suden/
Frances Hellebrandt Professional Opportunity Award and presented
her research at the 2017 Experimental Biology meeting in Chicago,
April 22-26. Her abstract was entitled, “Sex-Dependent Regulation of
Blood Pressure by the Circadian Clock Protein Per1." Solocinski,
conducting her research in Dr. Michelle Gumz's laboratory, was
among 36 men and women selected from over
100 applicants. This award, which carries a $500
prize, is a tribute to the role of Dr. Caroline tum
Suden and Dr. Hellebrandt's commitment to
physiological research and the advancement of
women in science.
Pictured to the right are Kristen Solocinski,
Doctoral Graduate Student, and Lauren Douma,
Ph.D., former biochemistry graduate student,
presenting their poster at this year's Experimental
Biology meeting.
AVNI BHATT
ROSHA POUDYAL
CARRIE LOMELINO
KRISTEN SOLOCINSKI
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Structure-guided evolution of antigenically
distinct adeno-associated virus variants for
immune evasion
Longping Victor Tsea , Kelli A. Klinca , Victoria J. Madiganaa,b, Ruth M. Castellanos Riveraa,
Lindsey F. Wellsa, L. Patrick Havlika,b, J. Kennon Smithc,d, Mavis Agbandje-McKennac,d, and
Aravind Asokana,b,e,1
aGene Therapy Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599; bDepartment of
Genetics, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC; 27599; cDepartment of Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611; dCenter for Structural Biology, The McKnight
Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611; and eDepartment of Biochemistry and Biophysics,
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Journal: E4812–E4821 | PNAS | Published online May 30, 2017 Click here for full article.
Significance: Preexisting neutralizing
antibodies (NAbs) against adeno-associated
viruses (AAVs) pose a major, unresolved challenge
that restricts patient enrollment in gene therapy
clinical trials using recombinant AAV vectors.
Structural studies suggest that despite a high
degree of sequence variability, antibody
recognition sites or antigenic hotspots on AAVs and
other related parvoviruses might be evolutionarily
conserved. To test this hypothesis, we developed a
structure-guided evolution approach that does not
require selective pressure exerted by NAbs. This
strategy yielded highly divergent antigenic
footprints that do not exist in natural AAV isolates.
Specifically, synthetic variants obtained by evolving
murine antigenic epitopes on an AAV serotype 1
capsid template can evade NAbs without
compromising titer, transduction efficiency, or
tissue tropism. One lead AAV variant generated by
combining multiple evolved antigenic sites
effectively evades polyclonal anti-AAV1 neutralizing sera from immunized mice and rhesus
macaques. Furthermore, this variant displays robust immune evasion in nonhuman primate and
human serum samples at dilution factors as high as 1:5, currently mandated by several clinical
trials. Our results provide evidence that antibody recognition of AAV capsids is conserved across
species. This approach can be applied to any AAV strain to evade NAbs in prospective patients for
human gene therapy. For more information see UF Health website.
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NO SESSIONS UNTIL FALL 2017 SEMESTER
Brittany Rife Magalis Friday, 7/21, 2:00pm Topic: Evolutionary Dynamics and Phyloanatomy of Intra-host HIV/SIV Subpopulations During Disease Progression Location: ARB R3-265
BMB JOURNAL CLUB/BCH 6936 EPIGENETICS JOURNAL CLUB/GMS 6195 STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY JOURNAL CLUB/BCH 6875
CENTER FOR STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY SEMINAR SERIES CENTER FOR EPIGENETICS BMB FACULTY RESEARCH DISCUSSIONS
There will be no departmental seminars during the remainder of Summer 2017
semester. Fall 2017 sessions will be announced early in the semester.
Three alumni of the UF Department of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology were
recently reunited in Chicago at the FASEB
(Federation of American Societies for
Experimental Biology) meeting. From left to
right, (1) Michelle Gumz, Ph.D.,
Department of Medicine/Nephrology, BMB
Department/2004 graduate of the Dr. Brian
Cain lab, (2) Fangliang Zhang, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology/
University of Miami, BMB Department/2005
graduate of the Dr. Dan Purich lab, (3)
Debbie Zies, Ph.D., Associate P rofessor
of Biology at the University of Mary
Washington, BMB Department/2003
graduate of the Dr. Brian Cain lab.
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