Robert F. Kalejta, PhD

Professor of Molecular Virology and Oncology

Dr. Robert Kalejta’s laboratory examines how the epigenetic control of viral transcription determines whether human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infections will be lytic (productive) or latent. They also examine how herpesvirus kinases modulate the cell cycle and support viral infection. In the past 5 years they have determined that cellular intrinsic and innate immunity factors control the epigenetic modifications of viral genomes that differentiate lytic and latent infections. Dr. Emily Albright, a postdoc VTG trainee, has determined the epigenetic state of chromatinized HCMV in cells (Albright and Kalejta, J Virol. 2016, PMID: 27605676) and is an author on 4 other papers including another first authorship paper. Dr. Kalejta’s former predoc, VTG trainee Chad Kuny, who published three papers including 2 first authorship publications, is now a postdoctoral fellow at Penn State University.  Dr. Kalejta collaborates with Drs. Kenney, Sugden and Johannsen. Dr. Kalejta’s lab is supported by two NIAID R01 grants.