Daniela Vidal

Program: Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Current advisor: Carolina B. López, PhD

Undergraduate university: University of Texas at Brownsville, 2018

Enrollment year: 2021

Research summary

My research project focuses on investigating respiratory RNA virus persistence in the upper respiratory tract. The nose is the main entrance for respiratory viruses into the body and the site where a primary infection is established before the virus reaches the lung. The nose cavity is lined up with a complex epithelium composed of diverse epithelial and immune cell types equipped with defense mechanisms against respiratory viruses. More studies are now suggesting the capability of respiratory RNA viruses to persist in diverse respiratory tissues including the nasal epithelium, long after the acute infection. The cell types that harbor respiratory RNA viruses during persistent infection in the nasal epithelium, along with the impact persistent infections in the nose has on the respiratory tract have not been fully described. In our lab, we use a lineage-tracing flox-STOP-flox-tdTomato reporter mouse model infected with a Cre-recombinase expressing-Sendai virus, a murine parainfluenza virus, to track infected cells during the acute and chronic phase of an upper respiratory tract infection. Investigating the impact of persistently infected or survivor nasal cells in a well-established parainfluenza model provides a venue for understanding the role of the nasal epithelium in modulating viral infections locally and downstream along the respiratory tract. In addition, it could provide important insights into virus transmission and maintenance of a virus reservoir.

Graduate publications