Carolina B. López, PhD

Professor and BJC Investigator
Molecular Microbiology

Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis Program
Immunology Program

  • clopezzalaquett@wustl.edu

  • www.lopezlab.org

  • @CBLopezLab

  • virus, respiratory syncytial virus, Sendai virus, innate immunity, antiviral immunity

  • The Lopez Lab studies how viruses interact with the body and how defective viruses influence the development of diseases in humans

Research Abstract:

The Lopez Lab studies virus-host interactions with an emphasis on the mechanisms driving the immune
response to viral infections and the impact of this response in virus pathogenesis. In particular, the laboratory
investigates the mechanisms involved in the recognition and control of viruses that infect the respiratory tract,
including influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, and Sendai virus. The laboratory has also contributed to
the evaluation of anti-viral vaccines in mice and has recently begun to investigate the mechanisms that drive
the persistence of RNA viral genomes. Work from the Lopez Lab has revealed fundamental components of the
innate immune response that enable the onset of immunity during viral infections including the identification of
replication defective forms of viral genomes (DVGs) that accumulate naturally during infections in mice and
humans as the primary stimulators of the immune response to various RNA viruses in vivo. Follow up work in
the laboratory identified a molecular motif responsible for the unique immunostimulatory activity of DVGs that is
currently been tested as an immunostimulatory adjuvant. Recent work in the laboratory have focused in
investigating the impact of DVGs on virus pathogeneses, viral persistence, and clinical outcome and studies in
the laboratory had revealed previously uncharacterized cellular mechanisms that are pivotal for the virus-host
interaction and the long term fate of both virus and host.

Selected Publications:

see www.lopezlab.org for updated list of publications

Last Updated: 3/23/2021 3:44:11 PM

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