MGM NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS TO JASON UPTON:

Meet Jason Upton, newest faculty member in the Section of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology.  Dr. Upton was a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Edward S. Mocarski, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Vaccine Research Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.  He received a grant from the Cancer Research and Prevention Research Institute (CPRIT) for $2 million as a first-time tenure track faculty member.  Dr. Upton will continue his research on molecular pathogenesis of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) and the regulation of programmed cell death (PCD).

PCD serves as an efficient intrinsic defense against cellular injury or infection. Many pathogens, such as viruses, subvert normal cell death pathways as a mechanism to facilitate their own replication and persistence. Research in the Upton lab focuses on the MCMV and the regulation of PCD during infection. Using techniques of molecular and cellular biology, virology, and immunology, our research focuses on (1) elucidating the molecular mechanisms that initiate and execute programmed cell death pathways, (2) identifying and characterizing pathogen-encoded mechanisms of cell death suppression, and (3) understanding the role of cell death and cell death suppression during natural host-pathogen interactions, specifically influences on pathogenesis and host immunity.