Laura Katherine McMullan

B.S., University of Georgia
The Hepatitis C Virus Folds: How RNA Structures in the Capsid Gene Impact Replication and Infection
presented by Charles M. Rice

Laura was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Georgia with a degree in genetics. During her undergraduate years she worked as an interpreter for the hearing impaired and later, after graduation, in the laboratory of Lois K. Miller, a virologist studying large DNA viruses that infect insects. It was in the Miller lab that Laura developed an interest in virology, which she pursued by joining the Centers for Disease Control’s Special Pathogens Branch. During her nearly five years at the CDC, Laura rose from a guest researcher to a microbiologist working on methods to detect and track nasty emerging viral pathogens like Nipah and Lassa fever viruses. She came to Rockefeller already a well-trained researcher.

When Laura first arrived she worked on two projects, one on yellow fever virus and another on the animal virus known as bovine viral diarrhea virus, but then turned her attention to hepatitis C. Laura focused on the molecular details of replication of this RNA virus which, as many of you know, causes liver disease, including cirrhosis and cancer. Through a series of elegant animal and cell culture studies, Laura discovered and characterized an RNA signal in the protein-coding region of the viral genome that is required for virus replication. Through this work, which melded genetics, biochemistry and immunology, Laura identified a new target for anti-hepatitis C virus drug discovery, which is important given the incredible global diversity and adaptability that this virus displays.
Laura’s tenacity and love of exploring new territory was exemplified by her willingness to design and analyze literally hundreds of mutations to probe the function of this RNA element. With her Rockefeller experience behind her, Laura hopes to return to the CDC to renew her work on emerging and reemerging viral pathogens that impact global health. I think we can look forward to stellar contributions from Laura in this field for many years to come.