Sergio Heli Triana Sierra, Ph.D.

Research

In the Shalek and Sabeti labs, I will develop tools for studying viral hemorrhagic fevers in areas where these diseases are endemic. The viruses that cause Lassa, dengue, yellow fever, and Ebola all produce fever and damage blood vessels. However, whether they use similar mechanisms to do so is unclear, and the specialized equipment needed to address these questions can be difficult to deploy in the regions where the infections occur. The Shalek and Sabeti labs have developed a method for examining how individual immune cells respond to infection with the Ebola virus. Now, using state-of-the-art techniques in cell and molecular biology, genomics, and computational analysis, I will adapt this technique to include all disease-causing viruses, and—in collaboration with groups in South America, Southeast Asia, and West Africa—I will also use this tool to catalog how hemorrhagic viruses and immune cells interact. These findings will facilitate the development of a powerful method for studying viral infections and identifying novel therapeutic targets.