Laurie A. Silva, PhD
- Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases
- Assistant Professor, Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Graduate School of Public Health
- Member, Graduate Program in Microbiology and Immunology (PMI)
- Facility Director, A-BSL3 Facility at Rangos Research Center
Education & Training
- BS, Oklahoma State University
- PhD, Harvard University
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Vanderbilt University
Research Interest Summary
Research Interests
Chikungunya virus is an emerging, mosquito-borne alphavirus that causes an acute febrile illness called chikungunya fever characterized by a maculopapular rash and incapacitating arthralgia. Acute disease can evolve into chronic arthritis in a substantial subset of patients, with arthritis symptoms persisting for months to years. Over the past twenty years, the geographic range of the virus has expanded drastically spread by mosquitoes in regions historically free of the virus, including islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and numerous countries in the Caribbean and South and Central America. Currently, there are no licensed vaccines or therapeutics to prevent or treat infections caused by chikungunya virus. Addressing knowledge gaps in virus-host interactions and the factors that govern tissue tropism, dissemination, and pathogenesis is critical for development of treatments for this important human pathogen.
The research in the Silva laboratory centers on virus-host interactions required for chikungunya virus to initiate and complete its replication cycle within cells and establish infection and spread within a host. Using a multidisciplinary approach, we are investigating mechanisms of CHIKV cell entry, replication, egress, and pathogenesis, with the goal of better understanding the viral and host determinants that dictate CHIKV virulence, which will inform strategies for the development of antiviral therapeutics and vaccines.
Publications
*Lentscher AJ, *McAllister N, Griswold KA, Martin JL, Welsh OL, Sutherland DM, #Silva LA, #Dermody TS. Chikungunya Virus Vaccine Candidate Incorporating Synergistic Mutations Is Attenuated and Protects Against Virulent Virus Challenge. J Infect Dis. 2023 Feb 1; 227(3):457-465. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiac066. PubMed PMID: 35196388; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10152497. *co-first authors #contributed equally to this work
Rangel MV, McAllister N, Dancel-Manning K, Noval MG, Silva LA, Stapleford KA. Emerging Chikungunya Virus Variants at the E1-E1 Interglycoprotein Spike Interface Impact Virus Attachment and Inflammation. J Virol. 2022 Feb 23; 96(4):e0158621. doi: 10.1128/JVI.01586-21. Epub 2021 Dec 22. PubMed PMID: 34935436; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8865554.
McAllister N, Liu Y, Silva LM, Lentscher AJ, Chai W, Wu N, Griswold KA, Raghunathan K, Vang L, Alexander J, Warfield KL, Diamond MS, Feizi T, *Silva LA, *Dermody TS. Chikungunya Virus Strains from Each Genetic Clade Bind Sulfated Glycosaminoglycans as Attachment Factors. J Virol. 2020 Nov 23; 94(24). doi: 10.1128/JVI.01500-20. Print 2020 Nov 23. PubMed PMID: 32999033; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7925169. *co-corresponding authors
Lentscher AJ, McCarthy MK, May NA, Davenport BJ, Montgomery SA, Raghunathan K, McAllister N, Silva LA, Morrison TE, Dermody TS. Chikungunya virus replication in skeletal muscle cells is required for disease development. J Clin Invest. 2020 Mar 2; 130(3):1466-1478. doi: 10.1172/JCI129893. PubMed PMID: 31794434; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7269570.
Freeman MC, Coyne CB, Green M, Williams JV, Silva LA. Emerging arboviruses and implications for pediatric transplantation: A review. Pediatr Transplant. 2019 Feb; 23(1):e13303. doi: 10.1111/petr.13303. Epub 2018 Oct 19. Review. PubMed PMID: 30338634.