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Dr. Shannon Kenney’s research effort focuses on understanding the molecular regulation and pathogenesis of human herpesvirus Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Her work in EBV spans a broad range of topics, including viral gene regulation, the effects of the virus on the host immune response, and the development of novel EBV-targeted therapies for EBV-positive tumors. Dr. Kenney has extensively studied the mechanisms by which EBV's immediate-early proteins BZLF1 and BRLF1 activate the lytic form of viral infection. Her group discovered that BZLF1 preferentially binds to and transcriptionally activates the methylated form of downstream target promoters, suggesting a unique mechanism by which EBV overcomes the inhibitory effects of viral genome methylation. Her research also demonstrates how EBV immediate-early proteins alter the host cell environment by usurping control over the host cell cycle, activating various signal transduction pathways, inhibiting p53 function, and dispersing PML nuclear bodies, thereby attenuating the host’s innate immune response. Dr. Kenney is translating the results of her basic molecular studies into the development of new EBV-targeted therapies and is also developing a new small animal model to study EBV pathogenesis in vivo.
Department: Department of Computer Sciences