Nov 2020: Happy 5th birthday, Lazear Lab! In light of the pandemic, we skipped the traditional blowing on shared food and enjoyed our cupcakes separately.

Sept 2020: Each year on Sept 25 the Lazear Lab recognizes the contributions of Jesse Lazear to the field of arbovirology for his demonstration that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes.

Wikipedia: Jesse Lazear
William Petri: The Yellow Fever Commission
The Philip S. Hench Walter Reed Yellow Fever Collection at UVA

July 2020: Congratulations to Dr. Derek Carbaugh, first PhD graduate from the Lazear Lab! During his thesis research, Derek showed that envelope protein glycosylation contributes to Zika virus pathogenesis in mice and he identified two different genetic mechanisms that determine the distinct pathogenic phenotypes of two closely-related Zika virus strains (check out his publications). We wish him all the best in his new position at AskBio, where he will pursue his interests in gene therapy.

April 2020: We are so lucky to have 2 fantastic PhD students joining our lab this year: Drake Philip & Josh Nielsen. Drake will be studying IFN-lambda mediated antiviral responses and Josh will be investigating determinants of flavivirus host range. We’re excited for all the cool science they’re going to be doing (once we’re able to get back to lab!)

April 2020: Congratulations to PREP student Pedro Martinez Barbosa who will be joining the UNC BBSP program this fall! Pedro has grown so much as a scientist this year, we’re excited to see him move forward to grad school and glad we’ll still have him in Chapel Hill.

March 2020: With lab research at UNC largely shut down to control the spread of COVID-19, Lazear Lab members are mostly working from home and collaborating with their new co-workers. While it is disappointing to curtail our research, it is more important to do our part to help slow this pandemic.

Feb 2020: It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to spend a week at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua (UNAN), teaching virology. This was part of a new biomedical PhD program (the first in Nicaragua) which is a partnership between UNAN and UNC (supported by D43 TW010923). Thanks to my amazing teaching partner, Efra Rivera Serrano, and thanks to the students for their hard work and enthusiasm - I hope we’ll have a chance to work together in the future.

January 2020: Happy New Year from the Lazear Lab!