Ashwanth Christopher Francis
Florida State University, FL·Microbiology & Immunology
HIV-1 does not insert its genetic material into a human chromosome at random. It strongly favors genes that are actively being read, and once inserted it becomes a permanent resident of the cell's genome, which is why the infection cannot be cleared.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Biology
Biophysics
- Topics
viral capsid
nuclear speckles
nuclear pore complex
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2029
What they work on
- Determine whether phase separation by the mixed-charge RSLD region of CPSF6, a host RNA-processing protein, releases HIV-1 from nuclear pore complexes and recruits host proteins and nuclear speckle components needed for viral transport.
- Use live-cell imaging to visualize HIV-1 complexes moving through the nucleus alongside CPSF6, nuclear actin and nuclear speckles, and define how individual low-complexity and RSLD regions of CPSF6 contribute to each step.
- Map HIV-1 integration sites to test whether nuclear speckles and the surrounding three-dimensional genome architecture bias viral DNA insertion into actively transcribed genes rather than lamin-associated regions near the nuclear rim.
- Identify speckle-associated genomic domains that change in response to HIV-1 infection, and assess what this implies for global genome organization, in cell types including primary CD4+ T cells and macrophages.
More about the research
How the virus finds those preferred landing sites inside the nucleus is largely unknown, and that is the gap this project addresses: the physical journey of the viral complex from the nuclear entry gate to the particular stretches of chromosome where it integrates.
Why it matters
HIV-1 persists because it permanently inserts itself into actively transcribed human genes, and the steps that steer it there are poorly understood. Mapping the nuclear transport route and the host proteins the virus depends on could identify points to block before integration occurs, which is relevant to preventing the establishment of latent, treatment-resistant infection. The work also clarifies how nuclear speckles and genome organization govern where foreign DNA lands.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Katharine Ullman
University of Utah, UT·Biology
Determine how LEM2, an inner nuclear membrane protein, helps organize the newly forming nuclear envelope after cell division, using timelapse microscopy and proximity labeling to identify nearby proteins.
David Shechner
University of Washington, WA·Biochemistry
Generate a high-confidence catalog of the proteins, transcripts and genomic loci that make up Cajal bodies, using O-MAP, an RNA-targeted proximity-biotinylation method that tags molecules near a chosen RNA inside intact cells.
Anna Sokac
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL·Biology
Test whether measurable features of transcription of five actin-regulator genes explain the even, synchronized timing of cellularization in Drosophila embryos, using live imaging of mRNAs down to single molecules.
The school
Florida State University: 15 labs on PI Pages, $461M a year on research, 481 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.