Protein‐Protein Interactions: Lessons from COVID‐19

The first pandemic of this century was marked by seemingly rapid developments of vaccines and therapeutics that saved hundreds of thousands of lives and, arguably, a relatively rapid return to a state of “normalcy”. However, the truth is that these successful biologicals and chemicals were decades in the making and whose development heavily relied on the scientific study and understanding of protein‐protein interactions (PPI’s). These studies range from quantum mechanical force field models and large scale computations to modern instrumentations of biolayer interferometry and Cryo electron microscopy. In this talk we review the role that the study of PPI’s played in COVID‐19 and its critical importance in future viral outbreaks. We also examine the role of PPI’s in the study of the current impact of SARSCoV‐ 2 infections on other health issues, including cancer and neurological pathologies.

Speaker bio: Michael H. Peters, Ph.D., is affiliated with Chemical and Life Science Engineering, Neurobiology and Anatomy, and Massey Cancer Center at Virginia Commonwealth University.