desyree jesus

* Responsibilities: * Characterized an IPTG-induced vaccinia virus mutant in the protein A3 * Characterized an IPTG-induced vaccinia virus mutant in the protein E8 * Designed a High Pressure Freezing/Freeze Substitution technique to be used as a tool in the characterization of the fine ultrastructure of vaccinia virus nucleocapsid * Characterized the structure of two vaccinia virus mutants using High Pressure Freezing/Freeze substitution * Developed a 3D reconstruction of vaccinia virus particles containing the nucleocapsid using electron tomography. * Hazardous Waste manager * Trained and mentored several undergraduate students. * Engaged in several collaborations, one of them resulting in a high impact publication.

SPAC has the mission of helping the postdocs from CHORI to practice their communications skills, networking and finding new job opportunities.

» Had enough results for a PhD thesis during 2-year Master’s degree. » Characterized the antiviral activity of Cidofovir against vaccinia virus, resulting in the discovery of a new mechanism of action of Cidofovir. » Initiated an international collaboration that resulted in expanding my PhD thesis at University of Florida and in an invitation for my first postdoc appointment. » Sustained collaborations with 3 cross-disciplinary scientists, while leading specific parts of the project, expanding the scope of my PhD thesis. » Was part of a team and helped in the development of an in vitro assay for fast and low-cost antiviral screening. » Collaborated in a team in the development of a PCR-based diagnostic test for a specific strain of vaccinia virus. » Mentored 5 undergraduate students, ensuring that they grasped the important scientific concepts.

Assisted in the characterization of chromosomal rearrangements of the gene MLL in leukemias using RT-PCR. I was part of a bigger group, in which the tasks where shared between different labs. Some labs were responsible for FACS and other for FISH. Laboratory of Dr. Maria do Socorro Pombo

My projects involve understanding the behavior of cytomegalovirus during latency in an in vitro model of hematopoietic stem cells. » Conducted and troubleshot experiments and analyzed data from molecular and cell biology assays. » Expanded a descriptive project on the differential behavior of clinical versus laboratory strains of Human Cytomegalovirus during latency establishment. This will be important to discover novel pathways and mechanisms that contribute to virus pathogenesis and to develop novel therapies. » Experienced communicator, have spoken to 400+ international audience during invited symposium talk. ★ Techniques: qPCR, immunofluorescence, fluorescence in situ hybridization, single cell qPCR, primary cell culture.

» I worked in Dr. Richard Condit lab after I was given a fellowship from Brazil to study abroad nd expand my PhD thesis. » Constructed two drug-inducible vaccinia virus mutan, which were important for finding protein interactions that are important for vaccinia virus assembly. » Sequenced one strain of vaccinia virus that is resistant to the antiviral Cidofovir as well as the vaccinia virus strain IHDW. » Analyzed the sequence of the Cidofovir-resistant virus looking for possible mutations that could be related to the phenotype. » Mapped the mutation in 3 different vaccinia virus mutants. » Mentored one research staff.