Elizabeth R. Wright, PhD

Professor of Biochemistry, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

The overarching research theme in the Wright lab is to develop cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) technologies for addressing fundamental questions in protein assembly, virology, cell biology, and host-pathogen interactions. This has laid the groundwork for Dr. Wright and her group to determine the 3D structures of many enveloped RNA viruses, including HIV, Measles virus (MeV), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), to provide information necessary for the design and production of targeted therapeutics, antivirals, and vaccines. Trainees will have the opportunity to train with and become skilled in biophysical methods, virological techniques, and computational approaches. Some of these include, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET), correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM), computational methods for image analysis and structure determination, virus isolation, plaque assays, quantitative RT-PCR, site-directed mutagenesis, and reverse genetics and virus rescue. Previous PhD-level and postdoctoral trainees from the Wright lab have secured advanced positions in academia, government, and industry. The most recent PhD graduates from the group are either in a postdoctoral appointment (Dr. Zunlong Ke, Briggs group, LMB-MRC, Cambridge, UK) or a staff scientist position (Dr. Rebecca Dillard, NeCEN, Leiden, The Netherlands). Upon graduation from the laboratory, Dr. Ke and Dr. Dillard each had 11 publications from their PhD research studies or collaborative research projects in which they were engaged. With her emphasis on defining structures associated with virus entry and assembly pathways, Dr. Wright, who just arrived on campus, plans to collaborate with Drs. Ahlquist, Palmenberg, and Sherer. Dr. Wright’s lab is supported by 3 R01 grants.