Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS March Meeting 2022
Volume 67, Number 3
Monday–Friday, March 14–18, 2022; Chicago
Session S15: Physics for Everyone: Symposium on Physics of Viruses and COVID 19Invited Live Streamed Undergrad Friendly
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Sponsoring Units: DMP Chair: Yuri Suzuki, Stanford University Room: McCormick Place W-183C |
Thursday, March 17, 2022 8:00AM - 8:36AM |
S15.00001: Watching viruses form, one virus at a time Invited Speaker: Vinothan N Manoharan Simple viruses consist of RNA and proteins that form an icosahedral shell (called a capsid) that protects the RNA. Many simple viruses are self-assembled: mixing the RNA and the capsid proteins in a test tube leads to spontaneous formation of infectious viruses in high yield. This result suggests that we can understand RNA virus self-assembly from the perspective of statistical physics. The central question is how a random process like self-assembly can lead to a high yield of well-formed viruses. I will discuss some potential answers to that question based on experiments that measure the kinetics of assembly of individual viruses. |
Thursday, March 17, 2022 8:36AM - 9:12AM |
S15.00002: Virus symmetry-breaking, elasticity and self-assembly Invited Speaker: Roya Zandi The process of formation of virus particles in which hundreds or thousands of the protein subunits encapsulate the genetic materials to form a stable, protective shell (capsid) is an essential step in the viral life cycle. The capsids of the majority of spherical viruses adopt structures with icosahedral symmetry, built of coat proteins assembled in special motifs involving a minimal number of inequivalent positions. Since protein subunits assemble into error-free capsids with universal Icosahedral Order under a variety of in vivo and in vitro conditions, I first present our numerical and analytical work exploring the origin of this universality. In the second part of the talk, I discuss our efforts to understand the formation of SARS-CoV-2 particles in their host cells. In contrast to icosahedral viruses, the structures of coronaviruses are heterogeneous both in morphology and size, complicating significantly any theory of their formation. Further, they carry the largest single-stranded RNA genome. Through a combination of computer simulations and scaling theories, I describe our attempts to account for how SARS-CoV-2 condenses and organizes its 30 kb genome while budding from internal membranes of infected cells. |
Thursday, March 17, 2022 9:12AM - 9:48AM |
S15.00003: Making virus-like vaccine particles in vitro Invited Speaker: William Gelbart Viruses have evolved to do essentially one thing – protect their genes until they get them into the right host cells – and this, as we know all too well, they do with devastating success. In my talk I discuss how it is possible to synthesize infectious virus particles “from scratch”, i.e., from their purified genome and capsid protein components. I’ll also talk about how this same in vitro (“test tube”) synthesis can be used to make non-infectious virus-like particles containing genes in “messenger” RNA (mRNA) form that code for viral antigens. By functionalizing these particles to target professional antigen-presenting cells, they become vaccines that directly elicit a killer T-cell response. Alternatively, the particles can be used as scaffolds for presenting multiple copies of intact viral proteins – like the infamous “spikes” of SARS-2 – that will activate virus-specific B cells and the secretion of neutralizing antibodies. I compare our mRNA vaccine particles with the highly effective COVID-19 Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, and discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of each, relating to the generation of antibodies and the proliferation of killer T cells. The differences arise from our form of mRNA being “self-replicating”, and from our delivery system involving monodisperse protein shells instead of polydisperse lipid nanoparticles. Finally, I discuss how one can mimic the in vivo immune response to a vaccine by working – again in a test tube – with nothing more than (in vitro reconstituted vaccine particles and) purified antigen-presenting cells and killer T-cells. |
Thursday, March 17, 2022 9:48AM - 10:24AM |
S15.00004: How personalised is our immune repertoire? Invited Speaker: Aleksandra M Walczak Immune repertoires provide a unique fingerprint reflecting the immune history of individuals, with potential applications in precision medicine. Can this information be used to identify a person uniquely? If it really is a personalised medical record, can it inform us about the outcomes of a COVID-19 infection? I will show how statistical analysis of immune repertoires sequencing experiments can answer these questions. |
Thursday, March 17, 2022 10:24AM - 11:00AM |
S15.00005: Viruses, vaccines, immunity and pandemics Invited Speaker: Arup K Chakraborty Viruses, Immunity, and Vaccines Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT & Harvard Infectious disease-causing pathogens have plagued humanity since antiquity, and the COVID-19 pandemic has been a vivid reminder of this perpetual existential threat. Vaccination has saved more lives than any other medical procedure, and indeed, effective vaccines now promise to control the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we do not have effective vaccines against rapidly mutating viruses, such as HIV; nor do we have a universal vaccine against seasonal variants of influenza or SARS-CoV-2 variants that may evolve in the future. The ability to develop effective vaccines that protect us from highly mutable viruses will help create a more pandemic-resilient world. In this talk, I will describe how by bringing together approaches from statistical physics, learning theory, virology and immunology, progress is being made to address this challenge. The application of these fundamental concepts to HIV and influenza vaccines will be discussed. |
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