Reyna, Cristal

McNair Scholar

Washington State University
260 Lighty Building
Pullman, WA 99164
Graduation Date: May 2013

Summer 2012 Plans:Fellow at REU Summer Undergraduate Research Program at the University of Notre Dame

 

cristal.reyna@email.wsu.edu
Curriculum Vitae
 reyna_cristal2012
Research interests
The research Cristal Reyna is currently involved in focuses on the highly pathogenic and lethal Nipah virus (NiV). Her project focuses on the novel function of the helical region 3 (HR3) of the Nipah Fusion (NiV-F) protein, which has not been studied in the Paramyxoviridae family. The NiV-F protein is involved in the membrane fusion event necessary for viral entry into host cells that contain the mammalian receptor ephrin B2 and for the pathologic induction of cell-cell fusion. It is known that binding of the viral attachment protein to ephrinB2 triggers NiV-F to carry out viral entry into mammalian cells. This project focuses on the characterization of mutants of the NiV-F HR3 region, obtained by alanine scan mutagenesis. Specific mutants in the HR3 region have been found to display hyperfusogenic or hypofusogenic phenotypes, increasing or decreasing viral entry. These data strongly suggest that the HR3 region plays a critical role in modulating cell-cell fusion and viral entry. Cristal’s role in this project is to determine which step of viral entry these mutations affect. This study will utilize new and unique assays to measure the kinetics of the early steps of fusion, which will give her team’s insights into what part(s) of the fusion cascade hyper- and hypo-fusogenic mutants affect. Currently, she is optimizing such assays. The identification of novel determinants of viral entry in NiV-F offers new potential targets for therapeutic intervention against NiV. She is working under the supervision of Dr. Hector Aguilar-Carreno.
Recent accomplishments
  • Auvil Scholars Research Fellowship, 2011-2012
  • Ronald E. McNair Scholar, 2011
  • REU Summer Undergraduate Research Program at the University of Notre Dame 2012
  • National SMART Grant 2010-2012
  • Academic Competitiveness Grant 2009-2010


Recent conference presentations

  • Poster Presentation at the Academic Showcase, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, March 2012.
  • Presentation. “Optimizing the F-Triggering Assay”. Dr. Hector Aguilar Carreno’s Laboratory. February 2012.

 

Educational background

  • B.S. Biochemistry and Microbiology, Washington State University, 2013