Jay A. Nelson

Jay A. Nelson, Ph.D. is a Senior Scientist in the Pathobiology Division of the ONPRC, Professor in the School of Medicine at Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU and the founder and Director of the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI). Dr Nelson is a senior molecular virologist with over 155 papers and reviews on a variety of topics including herpesviruses, retroviruses, and flaviviruses. The primary focus of Dr. Nelson's research over the years has centered on the molecular pathogenesis of cytomegalovirus (CMV). Some of the seminal observations from his laboratory include the identification of the latent reservoir of CMV as a myeloid lineage cell, the identification and characterization of a viral G-coupled receptor as a factor in the acceleration of vascular disease, the characterization of virally encoded microRNAs (as well as the CMV genes regulated by these RNA species), the use of CMV as an effective vaccine platform, and more recently, the generation of a humanized mouse to study molecular aspects of human CMV latency and reactivation. Over the past 5 years, Dr. Nelson's has established a program to elucidate host-pathogen interactions with West Nile virus. Dr Nelson's group has pioneered the use of functional genomic approaches to identify cellular therapeutic targets for viral disease. This approach has determined that cYes, a cellular Src kinase, is an important regulator of flavivirus maturation and an enzyme hijacked by the virus resulting in tight junction malfunction. The second aspect of Dr.Nelson's flavivirus program is his work with other members of the VGTI to elucidate mechanisms of West Nile virus disease in the aged immunosenescent population.

Key Publications

Dumortier, J., D. N. Streblow, A. V. Moses, J. M. Jacobs, C. N. Kreklywich, D. Camp, R. D. Smith, S. L. Orloff, and J. A. Nelson. Human Cytomegalovirus Secretome contains factors that induce angiogenesis and wound healing. J Virol 82:6524-35, 2008

Nelson, J. A. Small RNAs and Large DNA viruses. N Engl J Med 357: 25-27. 2007

Grey F., H Meyers, E. A. White, D. H. Spector, and J.A. Nelson. A human cytomegalovirus-encoded microRNA regulates expression of multiple viral genes involved in replication. PLOS Pathogens 3 (11):e163; 2007

Hirsch, A. G Medigeshi, H Meyers, V De Fillippis, K. Fruh, T Briese, W. I. Lipkin, and J. A. Nelson. The Src Family Kinase c-Yes is Required for Maturation of West Nile Virus Particles. J Virol. 79(18):11943-11951, 2005

Varnum, S. M., D. N. Streblow, M. E. Monroe, P. Smith, K.J. Aubrey, L. Pa_a-Toli, D. Wang, D. G. Camp II, K. Rodland, S. Wiley, W. Britt,T Shenk, R. D. Smith and J. A. Nelson. Identification of proteins in human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) particles: The HCMV proteome. J Virol. 78:10960-6, 2004

Streblow DN, Vomaske J, Smith P, Melnychuk R, Hall L, Pancheva D, Schlaephler DA, and Nelson JA. The Human Cytomegalovirus Chemokine Receptor US28 Activates Focal Adhesion Kinase In A Ligand Dependent Manner. J. Biol. Chem 278(50):50456-65, 2003