BMEBT Seminar by Dr. Xiaofei Jia
When: Friday,
October 14, 2016
2:00 PM
-
3:00 PM
Where: Textiles Building 101E
Description: TITLE:MISTRAFFICKING OF MEMBRANE-EMBEDDED HOST IMMUNE MOLECULES BY HIV-1
Abstract: Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) remains a major health threat to mankind. The virus inserts its genetic material into the genome of the host cells and establish life-long infections in patients. To ensure proper viral replication and transmission, HIV-1 has developed various mechanisms to evade the host immune attack. One unique strategy of such is that the virus mistraffics and thus subverts membrane-embedded host immune molecules. This is achieved by HIV-1 hijacking the host clathrin membrane trafficking machineries using dedicated viral proteins. My research has focused on elucidating the molecular mechanisms of these virally induced mistrafficking events using structural biology and biochemistry. High-resolution structural information gained in these systems not only enabled a greater understanding of the viral life cycle, but also paved the ways for developing novel antivirals to combat HIV.
Bio:
Xiaofei Jia is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He is a biochemist and structural biologist in training. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that viruses, such as HIV, use to evade the host immune attack and establish infection. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Michigan State University under the guidance of Drs. James Geiger and Babak Borhan. Prior to joining UMass Dartmouth, he completed his postdoctoral training in Dr. Yong Xiong's lab in the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University.
Abstract: Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) remains a major health threat to mankind. The virus inserts its genetic material into the genome of the host cells and establish life-long infections in patients. To ensure proper viral replication and transmission, HIV-1 has developed various mechanisms to evade the host immune attack. One unique strategy of such is that the virus mistraffics and thus subverts membrane-embedded host immune molecules. This is achieved by HIV-1 hijacking the host clathrin membrane trafficking machineries using dedicated viral proteins. My research has focused on elucidating the molecular mechanisms of these virally induced mistrafficking events using structural biology and biochemistry. High-resolution structural information gained in these systems not only enabled a greater understanding of the viral life cycle, but also paved the ways for developing novel antivirals to combat HIV.
Bio:
Xiaofei Jia is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He is a biochemist and structural biologist in training. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that viruses, such as HIV, use to evade the host immune attack and establish infection. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Michigan State University under the guidance of Drs. James Geiger and Babak Borhan. Prior to joining UMass Dartmouth, he completed his postdoctoral training in Dr. Yong Xiong's lab in the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University.
Contact: BMEBT Seminar Series
Topical Areas: University Community, Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Bioengineering, College of Engineering