Caitlin Stoddard, PhD

The Stoddard lab studies how individual genes/proteins contribute to early-acting innate immunity to viral infection through Type I and III interferon responses. We use high-throughput functional genetic screens to discover novel antiviral genes that target human coronaviruses and other viruses. We are particularly interested in understanding how host, cell, and virus context contribute to specificity or breadth of antiviral gene activity during the innate immune response. For example, we are interested in whether there are differences in the antiviral gene repertoire in the upper versus lower airway, or in respiratory epithelial cells versus immune cells. We hope that these studies will expand our ability to leverage the innate immune response in therapeutic antiviral strategies targeting the host. In the past, we have also studied antibody-mediated immunity to viral infection and have plans to apply mapping approaches to understand how antibody binding sites are associated with disease outcomes during viral infection.

Specific active projects include:

• Discovery of novel interferon-stimulated genes that control infection by both mildly and more severely pathogenic human coronaviruses
• Understanding the mechanism-of-action of antiviral factors in blocking coronavirus infection in respiratory and immune tissue
• Characterizing novel bat viral tolerance factors and their application to viral control in human cells