Professor Kevin Coombs

About the author

Dr. Kevin Coombs received his B.A.s in Biology and English from the State University of New York in Geneseo, N.Y., and his M.A. and Ph.D degrees from the University of Texas in Austin, TX. His post-doctoral training in molecular and structural virology was done in the labs of Dr. Bernard Fields at Harvard Medical School and Dr. Steven Harrison at Harvard University. Dr. Coombs is presently a Professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and is Assistant Dean of Research for the College of Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences. He serves on several Editorial Boards of journals publishing in Cell Biology, Molecular Biology and Virology, has served as a panel member on NIH and AHFMR Peer Review Committees and as Scientific Officer and panel member on the CIHR Virology and Viral Pathogenesis Committee. His research interests include delineation of the protein and nucleic acid interactions in nucleoprotein complexes, using a variety of RNA viruses as models. This work is in general areas of:

* Generation and molecular characterization of assembly-defective virus mutants

* Inhibition of virus replication using pharmacologic inhibitors

* Mass spectrometry- and Systems-based analyses of virus and host protein alterations

* Development of non-pathogenic viruses as “bio-indicators” for wastewater and medical instrument disinfection.

Global Medical Discovery featured article: Differential Reovirus-Specific and Herpesvirus-Specific Activator Protein 1 Activation of Secretogranin II Leads to Altered Virus Secretion