Department
Host Pathogen Interaction, Texas Biomedical Research InstituteShtanko, Olena, Ph.D.
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Personal Statement:
My laboratory is interested in understanding how emerging viruses establish productive infection and trigger disease in affected individuals. I am deeply committed to developing strategies to minimize suffering of those who desperately need therapy. I have broad scientific and leadership experience conducting research in the areas of virology, novel small molecule therapeutic discovery and development, molecular and cell biology, and BSL4 containment over the course of 17 years. My thesis research focused on the mechanisms of budding and incorporation of virus nucleocapsids into nascent virions of Mopeia virus, a close relative of Lassa Fever virus. As a Postdoctoral Scientist, I studied mechanisms of entry and replication of highly pathogenic viruses as well as developed and tested novel therapeutics to combat these pathogens. My work has identified cell factors critical for Ebola virus and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus entry into cells. Since advancing to the Assistant Professor position, I have established my own group to study molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis and dissemination of filoviruses and other high-containment pathogens. I have also extensively collaborated with a number of investigators to design, coordinate, and perform virus studies to identify host factors critical for replication and spread of high-containment viruses as well as test novel small molecule antiviral therapeutics using a rodent model of virus disease and establish novel in vitro systems relevant to human disease for studies on virus pathogenesis and evaluation of putative antivirals.
Education
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, A.L.B., 06/2002, Natural Sciences
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, Ph.D., 09/2010, Microbiology
Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, Post-Doc, 12/2016, Virology & Antivirals
Research
An extensively trained specialist in researching BSL-4 pathogens, Dr. Shtanko has been developing primary cell assays able to replicate disease states to study interactions between viruses and host processes. One of areas of research focus is the role of autophagy, a catabolic process where cellular membranes serve as a source of vesicles whose role is to engulf cell contents for degradation. She found that the autophagy proteins are essential for infection of Ebola virus and related viruses by affecting macropinocytosis, a primary route of virus uptake into the cell. Dr. Shtanko is currently expanding the studies to understand how the pathway facilitates the spread of these viruses within the host.
As a part of a collaborative effort with Southwest Research Institute, Dr. Shtanko is also involved in designing and testing therapies targeting specific host factors critical for disease progression and control. She is also using commercially available therapies to target host processes. As part of the BSL-4 research team, Dr. Shtanko is also involved in testing various therapies in animal models through collaborative effort or contracts.