Qingfa Hou

Program: Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Current advisor: Eva-Maria Strauch, PhD

Undergraduate university: Huazhong University of Science & Technology

Enrollment year: 2023

Research summary
Stabilization of Hemagglutinin using Yeast Display and Deep Mutational Scanning

As a class 1 fusion protein, hemagglutinin is inherently unstable. It undergoes dramatic conformational change during the viral entry process, transitioning from its pre-fusion to post-fusion state in response to the acidic environment of the endosome. I’m using deep mutational scanning and yeast display to screen a HA mutant library for stabilized variants under stress conditions such as increased temperature and low pH. Sequence-stability maps will be generated to unravel the impact of all possible substitutions on HA stability at every position, which will further inform the computational design of more stablized HA variants. The immunogenicity and antibody response of these variants will be evaluated through animal studies. This research will enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying HA pH sensitivity and its influence on the immune response in HA-based vaccines.

Graduate publications