|
Ronald C. Montelaro, PhD
|
Co-Director, CVR
Professor
Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
9016 BST3
3501 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261
FRIP Database
PubMed Publications
Phone: (412) 648-8869
Fax: (412) 624-4440
E-mail: rmont@cvr.pitt.edu
Webpage: http://www.cvr.pitt.edu/personnel/view.asp?uid=rmont
Research
The primary focus of the Montelaro lab is to elucidate the intricate interactions between viral pathogens and host immune responses to determine the mechanisms by with host immunity contributes to protection and disease and to serve as a basis for the development of effective vaccines. A particular interest of the lab is to develop effective strategies to overcome the challenge of natural viral antigenic variation that has evolved as a common complication to the development of effective vaccines to important viral diseases, including those related to biodefense and emerging infectious diseases. Systems currently under investigation include HIV-1 and related animal lentiviruses (SHIV, SIV, and EIAV), dengue virus, and influenza virus. Studies in these systems include investigation of the nature and role of antigenic variation during infection, the development of novel assays to characterize virus-specific innate, humoral, and cellular immune responses, and the design of engineered immunogens for effective vaccination against variant strains of a particular virus. In addition to these vaccine related studies, the lab also maintains a research program to develop novel de novo antimicrobial peptides (engineered cationic amphipathic peptides, or eCAPs) that can be used to inactivate a diverse spectrum of bacteria or enveloped viruses in a prophylactic or therapeutic treatment modalities.
Selected Publications
- McClanahan JR, Peyyala R, Mahajan R, Montelaro RC, Novak KF, Puleo DA. Bioactivity of WLBU2 peptide antibiotic in combination with bioerodible polymer. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2011 Dec;38(6):530-3. Epub 2011 Sep 15.
PMID:21920706
- Steckbeck JD, Craigo JK, Barnes CO, Montelaro RC. Highly conserved structural properties of the C-terminal tail of HIV-1 GP41 despite substantial sequence variation among diverse clades: Implications for functions in viral replication. J Biol Chem. 2011 Jun 9. [Epub ahead of print]PMID:21659530
- Craigo JK, Montelaro RC. Equine infectious anemia virus infection and immunity: Lessons for AIDS vaccine development. Future Virol. 2011 Feb;6(2):139-142. No abstract available. PMID:21643555.
- Steckbeck JD, Sun C, Sturgeon TJ, Montelaro RC. Topology of the C-terminal tail of HIV-1 gp41: differential exposure of the Kennedy epitope on cell and viral membranes. PLoS One. 2010 Dec 7;5(12):e15261. PMID:21151874
- Craigo JK, Barnes S, Cook SJ, Issel CJ, Montelaro RC. Divergence, not diversity of an attenuated equine lentivirus vaccine strain correlates with protection from disease. Vaccine. 2010 Nov 29;28(51):8095-104. Epub 2010 Oct 16. PMID:20955830
- Kling HM, Shipley TW, Patil SP, Kristoff J, Bryan M, Montelaro RC, Morris A, Norris KA. Relationship of Pneumocystis jiroveci humoral immunity to prevention of colonization and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a primate model of HIV infection. Infect Immun. 2010 Oct;78(10):4320-30. Epub 2010 Jul 26. PMID:20660609
- Shipley TW, Kling HM, Morris A, Patil S, Kristoff J, Guyach SE, Murphy JE, Shao X, Sciurba FC, Rogers RM, Richards T, Thompson P, Montelaro RC, Coxson HO, Hogg JC, Norris KA. Persistent pneumocystis colonization leads to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a nonhuman primate model of AIDS. J Infect Dis. 2010 Jul 15;202(2):302-12.
PMID:20533880
- Venkatachari NJ, Walker LA, Tastan O, Le T, Dempsey TM, Li Y, Yanamala N, Srinivasan A, Klein-Seetharaman J, Montelaro RC, Ayyavoo V. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Vpr: oligomerization is an essential feature for its incorporation into virus particles. Virol J. 2010 Jun 7;7:119. PMID:20529298
- Diedrich CR, Mattila JT, Klein E, Janssen C, Phuah J, Sturgeon TJ, Montelaro RC, Lin PL, Flynn JL. Reactivation of latent tuberculosis in cynomolgus macaques infected with SIV is associated with early peripheral T cell depletion and not virus load. PLoS One. 2010 Mar 10;5(3):e9611.
PMID:20224771
- Craigo JK, Montelaro RC. EIAV envelope diversity: shaping viral persistence and encumbering vaccine efficacy. Curr HIV Res. 2010 Jan;8(1):81-6. Review. PMID:20210783
Lab Information
Phone: (412) 648-8874
Fax: (412) 624-4440
E-mail: rmont@cvr.pitt.edu
|
Personnel
|
|
 |
Corin Ezzelarab
Research, CVR
Research Specialist IV
Center for Vaccine Research (CVR)
9028 BST3
(412) 648-8874
acj11@cvr.pitt.edu
|
 |
Ronald C. Montelaro, PhD
Member, CVR
Co-Director, CVR
Professor
Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
9016 BST3
(412) 648-8869
rmont@cvr.pitt.edu
|
|
 |
Jonathan Damien Steckbeck, PhD, MBA
Research, CVR
Post Doctoral Associate
Center for Vaccine Research (CVR)
9026 BST3
412-648-8874
jds170 at cvr dot pitt dot edu
|
 |
Timothy J. Sturgeon
Research, CVR
Flow Cytometry Specialist
Center for Vaccine Research (CVR)
9028 BST3
(412) 383-5333
sturgeon@cvr.pitt.edu
|
|
|
Alumni
Montelaro Laboratory Alumni
|
Lab Photos
|
Interesting Links
Center for Vaccine Research
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh - A New Vision
Visit Pittsburgh
|
|
