My research focuses on congenital infection of the nervous system. I study a virus called Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus. It is a common virus carried by wild mice and house mice. LCMV generally causes a self-limited flu like illness in adult humans, although in rare cases it can cause meningitis and death. It causes a far more devastating disease when a pregnant women is infected, leading to severe destruction of the fetal nervous system. LCMV is relatively prevalent in the human population as 5-10% of all people test positive for antibodies against it. Cases of congential LCMV are far less common as infection during pregnancy is a rare event. Our lab studies the pathogenesis of this virus in a rat model. Of specific interest to us is the role that the immune system plays in the pathogenesis of abnormal neuronal migration and hypoplasia. Our research on LCMV may have broader implications for other congenital infections as the immune response is the primary source of pathology, and may be similar to the immune response activated in other congenital infection.

Living in Iowa City