Education

Degree	Institution	Major
BS	Stanford University	Biological Sciences
PhD	University of Wisconsin	Molecular Biology

Post-Graduate Training

Training	Institution	Specialty
Postdoctoral	Harvard Medical School	Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

Awards

Name of Award/Honor	Awarding Organization
Elected Chair of the Publication Committee of ASBMB	ASBMB
Past-President of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering	CASE
Elected President of the Association of Medical School Microbiology and Immunology Chairs (AMSMIC)	Association of Medical School Microbiology and Immunology Chairs
Woman of Innovation honoree in Research Innovation and Leadership	Connecticut Technology Council
Elected to the Publications Committee of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology	ASBMB
Appointed to the State of Connecticut Advisory Board for the CT Bioscience Innovation Fund (CBIF)	Governor of the State of Connecticut
Elected President of Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering	Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering
Elected Vice President and President Elect of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering	Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering
Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Award	University of Connecticut
Recipient of mentoring awards	Rotary Club and Governor’s Partnership for Prevention
Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Fellow 2002-2003	Drexel University College of Medicine
Elected Member, American Academy of Microbiology	American Society of Microbiology
Elected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE)	Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering
Merit Award 1997-2007	NIAID
Stuart Wilson Young Faculty Award	University of Connecticut Health Center
Established Investigator Award 1988-1993	American Heart Association
Junior Faculty Research Award 1985-1988	American Cancer Society
Basil O’Connor Research Award 1985-1987	March of Dimes Foundation
Fox Award: Outstanding Undergraduate Major in Biological Sciences	Stanford University
Cap and Gown Award: Outstanding Junior Student in Biological Sciences	Stanford University

Name & Description	Category	Role	Type	Scope	Start Year	End Year
Chair of the Publications Committee of the American Society of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry	Professional/Scientific Organization	Chair	External	National	2019
Member of Task Force for ASBMB publications	Advisory Committee	member	External	National	2019	2021
Member of the executive Committee for the Institute for Systems Genomics (ISG)	Advisory Committee	member	UConn-Storrs	University	2018
Past President of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering	Professional/Scientific Organization	Past President	External	State	2017	2019
President Association of Medical School Microbiology and Immunology Chairs	Professional/Scientific Organization	President	External	National	2016	2017
Publications Committee of the American Society of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry	Professional/Scientific Organization	member	External	National	2016
President of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering	Professional/Scientific Organization	President	External	State	2015	2017
Vice President and President Elect of CASE	Professional/Scientific Organization	Vice President and President Elect	External	State	2013	2015
Deans Advisory Committee (DAC)	Advisory Committee	member	UConn Health	University	2012	2019
Scientific Advisory Board Morgridge Institutes Madison, Wisconsin	Advisory Committee	Elected Chair	External	University	2011	2016
Search Committee for New Dean of the School of Medicine	Advisory Committee	member	UConn Health	University	2011	2012
Appointed to the UMDNJ-RWJMS Laboratory Research Task Force	Other	Appointed Member	External	National	2010	2010
Governing Council of CASE	Professional/Scientific Organization	council member	External	State	2008	2019
Search Committee for New Dean/VP of the School of Medicine	Advisory Committee	member	UConn Health	University	2008	2009
Ad hoc Committee to review Scientific Misconduct Case	Advisory Committee	Chair	UConn Health	University	2008	2009
Member NIH Study Section, VirA	Study Section	Member	External	National	2006	2010
Elected to of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE)	Professional/Scientific Organization	Councilor	External	State	2003
Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Fellow (ELAM)	Professional/Scientific Organization	Fellow	External	National	2002	2003
Elected Member of the American Academy of Microbiology	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member	External	National	2001
Member Infectious Disease Merit Review Panel – Veterans Administration	Professional/Scientific Organization	Review Panel Member	External	National	2001	2004
Elected Member of Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE)	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member	External	State	1999
Division Chair American Society of Microbiology	Professional/Scientific Journal	Division Chair for DNA viruses	External	National	1998	1999
Journal of Virology	Editorial Board	Editorial Board	External	National	1996
Connecticut Virology Club	Professional/Scientific Organization	Founder and organizer	External	State	1995	2006
NIH Study Section, Experimental Virology	Study Section	Member	External	National	1993	1997
Association of Medical School Microbiology and Immunology Chairs	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member	External	National
American Society for Microbiology (ASM)	Professional/Scientific Journal	Member	External	National
Association of Medical and Graduate Departments of Biochemistry (AMGDB)	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member	External	National
American Society for Virology (ASV)	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member	External	National
American Association of University Women (AAUW)	Other	Member	External	National
Association for Women in Science (AWIS)	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member	External	National
The Society for Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (SELAM)	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member	External	National
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASMBM)	Professional/Scientific Journal	Member	External	National

HSV-1 and -2 are large DNA virus which are responsible for oral and genital infections, sight-threatening ocular infections and brain infections which can be life threatening. Our laboratory uses genetic, biochemical, biophysical, structural and molecular approaches to elucidate mechanisms of synthesis, maturation and cleavage and packaging of viral genomes. One of our goals is to identify antiviral targets which can be exploited to develop strategies for controlling viral infections. Projects in the lab are diverse and include virus-host interactions important for the formation of replication compartments within the nucleus of infected cells; structure function analysis of two viral helicases; structure-function analysis of the zinc binding domain of the HSV-1 primase; analysis of the role of recombination in viral DNA replication and genome maturation and the analysis of the machinery involved in cleavage and packaging of viral genomes into preformed procapsids. Important recent discoveries include:

The identification and characterization of a novel viral recombinase.
The realization that host cell recombination and repair proteins are involved in HSV DNA synthesis.
The discovery that host chaperones are rearranged in infected cells into foci which act as quality control mechanisms for the production of properly folded proteins.
The finding that the initiation helicase-origin binding protein UL9 is degraded during infection in a ubiquitin mediated pathway.
The further characterization of the interdependence of the helicase and primase subunits with each other.

Not accepting students for Lab Rotations at this time

Journal Articles

Books

Book Chapters

Reviews

Title or Abstract	Type	Sponsor/Event	Date/Year	Location
Viral Nucleases as novel antiviral targets: From Herpes to Coronaviruses	Plenary Lecture	NESS	2020	Virtual