Robert Lamb Kenneth F. Burgess Professor
Research Summary:
Robert Lamb's laboratory studies the structure, replication and assembly of influenza virus and paramyxoviruses, a family of viruses that includes mumps virus, measles virus, parainfluenza virus 1-5, Newcastle disease virus, canine distemper virus and Hendra and Nipah virus. In particular the laboratory studies the structural mechanism by which paramyxoviruses causes virus-cell and cell-cell fusion and how influenza virus and paramyxoviruses assembly and bud from the plasma membrane of virus-infected cell.
HHMI Profile
Selected Publications:
Fusion activation by a headless parainfluenza virus 5 hemagglutinin-neuraminidase stalk suggests a modular mechanism for triggering. Bose, S., A. Zokarkar, B.D. Welch, G.P. Leser, T.S. Jardetzky and R.A. Lamb. (2012). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 109, E2525-E2634. PMCID: PMC3465404
Influenza A virus uses intercellular connections to spread to neighboring cells. Roberts, K.L., B. Manicassamy and R.A. Lamb. (2015). J. Virol. 89, 1537-1549. PMCID: PMC4300760
Structure of the paramyxovirus parainfluenza virus 5 nucleoprotein-RNA complex. Alayyoubi, M., G.P. Leser, C.A. Kors and R.A. Lamb. (2015). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 112, E1792-E1799. PMCID: PMC4394319Immobilization of the N-terminal helix stabilizes prefusion paramyxovirus fusion proteins. Song, A.S., T.A. Poor, L.A. Abriata, T.S. Jardetzky, M. Dal Peraro and R.A. Lamb. (2016). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 113, E3844-E3851. PMCID: PMC4941503.
Lateral organizationof influenza virus proteins in the budzone region of the plasma membrane. Leser, G.P. and R.A. Lamb. (2017). J. Virol. 91, e02104-e02116. PMCID: PMC5391459.
Selected Honors:
Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology, 1997
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1999
President, American Society for Virology, July 2001-July 2002
Member, National Academy of Science, 2003
Fellow, American Academy of Arts & Sciences, 2007