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with a 3D model of murine norovirus (above) cryo-EM image of murine norovirus (above)

Research

The Wobus laboratory is interested in mechanisms of enteric virus – host interactions both in vitro and in vivo. Historically, we have used murine norovirus (MNV) as a model to study norovirus biology because it was the only norovirus that replicated in cell culture. Combined with the availability of a small animal model and reverse genetics system for MNV, we are taking advantage of the great tractability of this model. We developed the first small animal model for human norovirus (HuNoV) (Taube et al. mBIO 2013 and a discussion of the work on This week in Virology, episode 243 [http://www.twiv.tv/2013/07/28/twiv-243-live-from-asv-at-penn-state/]). We also established both of the recently described HuNoV cell culture systems (Jones et al. Science 2014; Ettayebi et al. Science 2016) in the laboratory to expand our studies to HuNoV. We are performing comparative studies between MNV and HuNoV to better understand similarities and differences between these closely related viruses. Our long-term goal is to identify new drug targets and conserved featured important during norovirus infection that may lead to the development of effective prevention and control strategies for human noroviruses, the major cause on non-bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide.

More recently, the Wobus lab expanded its focus to studying another gastrointestinal virus family astroviruses. Human astroviruses cause significant disease in the very young and immunocompromised patients. We established human intestinal enteroids as a physiologically relevant model for culturing all three clades of human astroviruses. We are currently using the system to learn more about the host response to infection and how cellular pathways are hijacked by these viruses.

Given the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, we are also closely working with scientists across the university to learn more about the virus, the disease it causes, and how to stop it.

Currently research in my laboratory is focused on the following areas:

1) investigation of human norovirus and astrovirus infection in human intestinal organoids

2) developing more complex intestinal organoids that incorporate immune cells and the microbiota for study of virus-host interactions

3) dissecting the metabolic rewiring of host cells during virus infection

4) collaborating with other laboratories on campus to increase our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 biology and develop therapeutics

(We are always looking for motivated people. If you’re considering a postdoc, drop a line to cwobus@umich.edu with your CV and a coverletter explaining your interest and background. We’d love to hear from you.)