Dr. Michael Katze is the recipient of the 2012
Paradigm Builder Lectureship. Dr. Katze’s lecture
will focus on the emerging field of systems biology in
the context of viral diseases. Traditional virology
research is being increasingly complemented by highthroughput
functional genomics, proteomics, and
metabolomics technologies. Research on epigenetic
gene modulation, microRNAs, and long noncoding
RNAs adds additional levels of complexity to
understanding regulation of biological processes. The
large amounts of information generated by these
methods can be integrated by computational
bioinformatics programs to create more realistic models
of complex biological systems in health and disease. At
one level, such models provide novel system-wide
frameworks for experimental validation of molecular
interactions and mechanisms they predict. Equally
important, these models also allow making predictions
for how to rationally and effectively design new viral
diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.
Dr. Katze is a world leader in the investigation of
host-virus interactions. His virus research interests
span over more than 30 years, starting from his
graduate work at Hahnemann University where he studied coxsackie and herpes simplex viruses. He
continued post-doctoral studies at Uppsala University
investigating expressional regulation and
pathogenesis of adenoviruses. His enduring interest
in influenza virus, hepatitis C virus (HCV), and
retroviruses continued after he joined the University of
Washington as an Assistant Professor in 1987. The
highlights of this research include identification of the
HCV NS5A protein as a “viral interceptor” of cellular
signaling potentially enabling HCV pathogenesis; one
of the first applications of microarray technology to
large-scale definition of cellular gene expression
changes during HIV infection; and the use of functional
genomics to define roles of sustained activation of
host immune and cell death responses in virulent
influenza infections.
Throughout his studies, Dr. Katze has developed a
deep understanding of interferon-mediated immune
responses against viral infections. He has made
significant contributions to defining and modeling viral
pathogenesis and the varied strategies used by
viruses such as cytomegalovirus (CMV) to evade
these host defense mechanisms. His recent work
focuses on the development of systems biology,
including functional genomics, proteomics, and
computational approaches to better understand the
molecular interactions between the virus and its host
as the key to developing new vaccines and better antiretroviral
drugs. Systems-level views from his laboratory have expanded to encompass host genetic
variation, metabolic pathways, epigenetics,
microRNAs, and long noncoding RNAs to complement
new experimental systems and technologies that
include mouse systems genetics, metabolomics,
lipidomics, and next-generation sequencing. Dr.
Katze’s research program applies this approach to
viruses responsible for worldwide pandemics,
including influenza virus, HCV, and HIV.
Dr. Katze is currently Professor of Microbiology at
the University of Washington and Associate Director
and Core Staff Scientist at the Washington National
Primate Research Center. He is the Program Director
for a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Center
on Systems Biology of Resistance and Progression to
HIV, HCV and HIV/HCV Disease, Co-Director of the
Pacific Northwest Regional Center of Excellence, and
Director of the Center for Systems and Translational
Research on Infectious Disease (STRIDE) where
these approaches are applied to a broad range of
experimental systems, including influenza, HCV,
Ebola, SARS, HIV and SIV. He has authored over 230
papers and reviews, of which over 50 are related to
the use of functional genomic approaches to study
virus-host interactions. Dr. Michael Katze is truly an
example of a Paradigm Builder. The Society
congratulates Dr. Michael Katze on his outstanding
work and research leadership and is proud to host him
at our meeting.
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