Laura Hanson

Name:

Laura Hanson 

Title:

Assistant Professor

Department:

Biology 

Phone:

940-898-2472

Email address:

940-898-2472

Description of research activities: Dr. Hanson’s research interest is on the pathogenesis of cytomegalovirus, a type of herpesvirus.  Her current work uses the mouse cytomegalovirus model to study a conserved family of genes whose functions are poorly understood.  One set of these genes is necessary for the virus, and inhibit the double-stranded RNA response pathway, an innate host defense mechanism.  Current studies are focused upon how expression of these gene products is regulated at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level by both the host and the virus.  Another set of viral gene products forms a multi-protein complex which is important for virus to grow in specific cell types.  Current research is focused on how the proteins interact as well as defining the importance of the interaction for localization and function.

Keywords: virus, pathogenesis, gene regulation, post-transcriptional