Research

Optical microscopy and in vivo imaging, RNA virus (HIV/SIV and hRSV) pathogenesis and detection, RNA regulation, RNA therapeutics and vaccines

The overarching theme of the Santangelo lab is the spatial biology of RNA viruses and RNA regulation.

So what is spatial biology? It is the study of biology in three dimensions – and we develop advanced imaging tools to achieve this goal.  We then focus our tools on the spatial biology of HIV/SIV and human respiratory syncytial virus (leading cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in babies), and the aberrant regulation of messenger RNA during inflammation, viral infections, and cancer pathogenesis.  We have developed both single molecule and whole body imaging methods in order to achieve these goals.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus We design, develop, and optimize the use of novel single-molecule probes against RSV genomic RNA, messenger RNA, and proteins in both live and fixed specimens. Using these technologies, we unravel the mysteries of RSV entry, replication, and assembly in the hope of developing novel vaccines and viral therapeutics.

HIV and SIV We formulate and employ novel probes against HIV that allow for whole-animal imaging via PET/CT. Using this technique we can investigate the path the virus takes during infection and the reservoirs of virus in the body, even while the virus remains latent .

Cancer Detection We develop novel techniques to interrogate cancer biology. By using single-molecule and organ-level methods, we can apply our designs to various clinical applications including early diagnosis and grading as well as investigating fundamental cancer pathology.

RNA Therapeutics We design and synthesize novel mRNAs that can be used in a wide variety of systems. We can track the mRNAs in both organs and at a single molecule level in living cells. These mRNAs can be used to treat or prevent disease, alter cellular processes, and provide a substrate for various useful reactions in and on a cell.