Melissa E. Kane, PhD

  • Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology
  • Member, Center for Microbial Pathogenesis

Education & Training

  • PhD in Microbiology, University of Chicago, 2011
  • BS in Animal Science, Cornell University, 2004
  • Postdoc: Laboratory of Paul Bieniasz, Rockefeller University

Research Interest Summary

Retrovirus, antibody responses, HIV, nuclear import, restriction factors, genetics

Research Interests

The central focus of the Kane Lab is understanding the genetic and immunological basis for protective antiviral immune responses, as well as the molecular details underlying the direct inhibition of retroviral replication by restriction factors. We utilize both in vitro and in vivo tools to investigate intrinsic, innate, and adaptive immune responses to retroviral infection. Our research is centered around three questions:

1. What allows some individuals to restrict or control retroviral replication?
2. How do retroviruses counteract host defenses?
3. What are the features of successful anti-retroviral immune responses?

Publications

1- Flick, H.*, Venbakkam, A.*, Singh, P.K., Layish, B., Huang, S-W., Radhakrishnan, R., Kvaratskhelia, M., Engelman, A.N., and Kane, M. 2025. Interplay between the cyclophilin homology domain of RANBP2 and MX2 regulates HIV-1 capsid dependencies on nucleoporins. mBio e0016925. PMID: 39853118 * -These authors contributed equally

2- Zhang, R.Z., Mele, V., Robben, L., Kane, M., 2023 Genetic differences between 129S substrains affect antiretroviral immune responses. J Virol. 97(5):e0193022. PMID: 37093008

3- Layish, B., Goli, R., Flick, H., Huang, S-W., Zhang, R.Z., Kvaratskhelia, M., and Kane, M. 2024. Virus specificity and nucleoporin requirements for MX2 activity are affected by GTPase function and capsid-CypA interactions. PLoS Pathogens 20(3):e1011830. PMID: 38512975

4- Kane, M.*, Mele, V., Liberatore, R., Bieniasz, P.D. 2020. Inhibition of spumavirus gene expression by PHF11. PLoS Pathogens 16(7):e1008644. PMCID: PMD7390438. *-Co- corresponding author

5- Kane, M* ., Deiss, F., Chervonsky, A.V., Golovkina, T. 2018. A single locus controls interferon gamma-independent antiretroviral neutralizing antibody responses. J Virol. PMID: 29875252 *- Corresponding author

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