Department of Chemistry
Seminar
9:45 a.m. Tuesday, March 31, 2015 • 331 Smith Hall
Associate Professor
Philip Dawson
Departments of Chemistry and Cell and Molecular Biology
Associate Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla CA
Structure-based Design of Viral Coat Protein Mimics
Facilitated by Chemoselective Ligation Chemistry
Research interests: development and utilization of methods to incorporate unnatural chemical
groups into proteins
Website: http://www.scripps.edu/research/faculty/dawson
Abstract
Pathogenic viruses are a serious threat to global health. For viruses such as HCV, influenza and
HIV, there is a critical need for both improved antiviral agents as well as more broadly effective vaccines. To address these challenges, a broadly effective vaccine must target conserved B and T cell
epitopes. We are working towards immunogen development using the epitope vaccine strategy: that
a broadly effective vaccine can be attained by targeting conserved neutralizing epitopes on the virus.
For example, we have designed peptides to mimic the conformational epitopes observed in the crystal structure between broadly neutralizing HCV antibodies and fragments of the HCV E1 and E2 coat
proteins. The design, synthesis and structural properties of these peptides will be discussed as well
as our progress towards developing these peptide mimics as immunogens capable of inducing a neutralizing response to HCV. We are pursuing similar approaches to the development of immunogens
against conserved epitopes in HIV gp41 and influenza HA. Future utility of these viral coat protein
mimics and their use in the development of antiviral proteins and immunogens will be discussed.
Host: Professor Mark Distefano
Refreshments will be served prior to the seminar.