About Karla Kirkegaard's Work
The research goal of my laboratory is to understand the unusual transmission genetics of positive-strand RNA viruses and thereby to identify paradigms with relevance to other fields as well. Transmission genetics is an especially interesting topic in the case of RNA viruses. These are nature’s most mutable genomes; this is not only biochemically and genetically interesting, it is also the reason that we have so few antiviral compounds. Our group has used our knowledge of the cell biology and biochemistry of RNA viruses to develop a strategy termed ‘dominant drug targeting’, in which antiviral compounds not only inactivate viral products, but turn them into potent inhibitors.
Awards and Achievements
National Academy of Arts and Sciences
NIH Director's Pioneer Award
AAAS Fellow