Michael A. Belshan, PhD

Department

• Med. Microbiology & Immunology

Position

• Professor

My fundamental research interest is virus-host cell interactions, specifically related to the replication and pathogenesis of the lentivirus subfamily of retroviruses. Members of this subfamily include the human and simian immunodeficiency viruses (HIV and SIV, respectively). I have a broad background in molecular virology and extensive experience studying retroviruses including an established record of productive research projects in retroviral studies, including molecular virology, proteomic studies, and in vitro drug testing. I also have experience in molecular virology, including retroviral and lentiviral gene delivery systems as well as RNAi and CRISPR.

Examples of the most recent publications can be found at this PubMed link.

Articles

• , 12, 1942
• , 13, 878342
• , 21(15), e2100005
• , 16(3), e0247640
• , 558, 86-95
• , 7, e14234
• , 167, 83-88
• , 516, 246-257
• , 61(1), e01475-16
• , 8(2), E47
• , 489, 282-291
• , 10(2), 156-63
• , 11(8), e1005075
• , 11, 416-427
• , 11(3), 416-27
• , 468-470, 409-420
• , 468-470, 293-302

Presentations

Research and Scholarship Interests

•  HIV Molecular Virology and Host Cell Interactions
  •  Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV infection is incurable, but treatment with a combination of anti-retroviral drugs can reduce virus replication to undetectable levels and forestall disease progression. However drug resistance to the existing pool of anti-retroviral therapies continues to rise. Continued success in the repression of HIV replication in infected individuals will require the development of new inhibitors that are effective against drug-resistant strains of virus. Drugs that target novel areas of virus replication have the greatest probability to be effective against such viruses.
  •  My laboratory seeks to comprehend poorly understood aspects of HIV replication by discovery of novel virus-host interactions using systems biology approaches. The ultimate goal is to identify new targets for anti-viral therapies. All areas of HIV replication can have potential cellular targets, including virus uncoating, preintegration complex (PIC) assembly and transport, viral transcriptional regulation, and virus assembly and release.
  Major Areas of Research
  •  Proteomic studies to identify novel virus-host interactions.
  • Characterization of novel host cell factors that contribute to HIV replication and pathogenesis.
  • Molecular biology of HIV replication.
  • In vitro drug testing.
  •  Our mass spectrometry analysis is done in collaboration with Dr. Pawel Ciborowski at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
  • We also collaborate with Dr. Christopher Destache in the Creighton University School of Pharmacy on the development of novel nanoparticle formulations to inhibit HIV replication.
  • Our laboratory is affiliated with the Nebraska Center for Virology a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence formed in the fall of 2000 under the National Institutes of Health Institutional Development Award program. The Center links the virology programs of Creighton University, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and the University of Nebraska Medical Center and conducts innovative research that addresses fundamental questions about the pathogenesis and replication of diverse viral agents that effect human, animal, and plant health.

Current Research Projects

• Academic (Scopus) Profile
  
  Links: 
  Nebraska Center for Virology
  American Society for Virology
   

• Infectious Disease Scientific Director, 2021
• Young Investigator Award, Creighton University School of Medicine, 2010
• Research Excellence Award, Iowa State University Graduate College, 1999