Anne Moscona, MD

Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Pediatrics
More specialties
Treats Children
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Overview

Our laboratory conducts basic research on paramyxoviruses that cause serious and prevalent childhood diseases, and on newly emerging paramyxoviruses that affect humans. We investigate common pediatric respiratory viruses (parainfluenza viruses, respiratory syncytial virus) as well as emerging lethal henipaviruses (Nipah and Hendra viruses). The focus is on the mechanisms of viral entry into host cells, in the intial stages of infection. The laboratory is best known for identifying critical roles of the viral receptor binding protein in activating the viral fusion process during infection. By identifying the mechanism of fusion activation, we have now have identified promising targets for interfering with the viral entry process.

The lab is organized around the interdisciplinary theme of virus-host interactions. Projects draw from strategies and methods of molecular biology, cell biology, biophysics, immunology, computational biology, structural biology, and virology. Projects are inter-related in ways that lead to constant communication and contributions to scientific development.

Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated

  • Respiratory Infection
  • Travel Health
  • Vaccinations
  • Viral Infections

Academic Appointments

  • Sherie L. Morrison Professor of Immunology (in Microbiology and Immunology)
  • Professor of Pediatrics
  • Professor of Physiology & Cellular Biophysics

Administrative Titles

  • Director, Center for Host-Pathogen Interaction

Hospital Affiliations

  • NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center
  • NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital

Languages

  • English

Gender

  • Female

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Insurance Accepted

Aetna [Weill Cornell Employee Plan] [Aetna

  • Weill Cornell Employee Plan]

Affinity Health Plan

  • Access (Exchange)

Affinity [HMO] [Affinity

  • HMO]

Cigna

  • Cigna

Emblem/HIP

  • Emblem/HIP

Emblem Select Care

  • Emblem Select Care

Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield

  • Blue Priority
  • Child Health Plus
  • EPO
  • HMO
  • Mediblue (Senior)
  • Pathway (Exchange)
  • PPO

Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield [Pathway Enhanced] [Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield

  • Pathway Enhanced]

Fidelis Care

  • Fidelis Care

Healthfirst

  • Healthfirst

March Vision

  • POMCO

Oscar (Exchange)

  • Oscar (Exchange)

Oxford Health Plans

  • Freedom
  • Liberty

Rockefeller University - CoreSource

  • Rockefeller University - CoreSource

United Empire

  • United Empire

UnitedHealthcare

  • Compass (Exchange)
  • HMO

United Healthcare

  • Community Plan

VNSNY CHOICE

  • VNSNY CHOICE

*Please contact the provider’s office directly to verify that your particular insurance is accepted.

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • BA, 1978 Molecular Biology & Biochem, Harvard College
  • 1982 Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
  • Internship: 1983 Mount Sinai Medical Center
  • Fellowship: 1988 Mount Sinai Medical Center

Committees, Societies, Councils

2022 - present: President, American Society for Virology

2019 - 2022: Councilor for Medical Virology, American Society for Virology

2018 - present: Committee on Election of the American Academy of Microbiology

2009 - present: American Academy of Microbiology, Fellow

2009 - present: Faculty of 1000 Contributing Member, Virology Section

2001 - present: American Society of Clinical Investigation,�Elected Member

2016: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) Ad Hoc Consultant

2014 - present: Virology (Vir A) National Institutes of Health grant review panel, Standing Member (six-year term)

1998 - 2009: Experimental Virology (EVR) National Institutes of Health Study Section (now Vir B) Standing member 2003 - 2009

Board Certifications

  • Pediatrics

Honors & Awards

Charles H. Revson Foundation Fellowship for Biomedical Research 1985-1988

NIH Physician Scientist Award (NIAID), 1987

Solomon Silver Award in Clinical Medicine, 1991

Hirschl/Monique Weill-Caulier Career Scientist Award, 1992-1997

Pediatric Infectious Disease Society Young Investigator Award, 1992

Elected to membership in The Society for Pediatric Research (SPR), 1992

Elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), 2001

Chair, Paramyxovirus sessions, American Society of Virology Annual Meetings, 1999 - 2011

Hattie Alexander Lecturer, Babies Hospital Alumni Day, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, 2004

Burroughs Wellcome Fund Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award Advisory Committee, 2006 to present

Elected Fellow, American Society for Microbiology, 2009

Elected Councilor for Medical Virology, American Society for Virology, 2019

Elected President, American Society for Virology, 2022

Keynote Speaker, EMBO Workshop on Membrane Fusion, Gottingen Germany, 2023

Research

Selected Publications

*Marcink TC, Zipursky G, Cheng W, Stearns K, Stenglein S, Golub KL, Cohen F, Bovier F, Pfalmer D, Greninger AL, Porotto M, des Georges A, Moscona A. Subnanometer structure of an enveloped virus fusion complex on viral surface reveals new entry mechanisms. Sci. Adv. 2023;9:eade272
*Marcink TC, Kicmal, T, Armbruster, E, Zhang, Z, Zipursky, G, Golub, KL, Idris, M, Khao, J, Drew-Bear, J, McGill, G, Gallagher, T, Porotto, M, des Georges, A, Moscona, A. Intermediates in SARS-CoV-2 spike-mediated cell entry. Sci. Adv. 2022 Aug 19;8(33):eabo3153. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abo3153. Epub 2022 Aug 19.PMID: 35984891
*Schmitz KS, Geers D, de Vries RD, Bovier TF, Mykytyn AZ, Geurts van Kessel CH, Haagmans BL, Porotto M, de Swart RL, Moscona A. Potency of Fusion-Inhibitory Lipopeptides against SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern. mBio 2022 Jun 28;13(3):e0124922. doi: 10.1128/mbio.01249-22. Epub 2022 Jun 13

*Marcink TC, Porotto M, Moscona A. Parainfluenza virus entry at the onset of infection. Adv Virus Res. 2021;111:1-29. doi: 10.1016/bs.aivir.2021.07.001. Epub 2021 Aug 23. PMID: 34663496.
*Greninger AL, Rybkina D, Lin MJ, Marcink TC,  Shean RC, Drew-Bear J, Makhsous N, Harder O, Bovier F, Burstein S, Niewiesk S, Rima BK, Porotto M, Moscona A. Human parainfluenza virus evolution during lung infection of immunocompromised individuals promotes viral persistenc. J Clin Invest. 202. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI150506.

Outlaw VK, Cheloha RW, Jurgens EM, Bovier FT, Zhu Y, Kreitler DF, Harder O, Niewiesk S, Porotto M, Gellman SH, Moscona A. Engineering Protease-Resistant Peptides to Inhibit Human Parainfluenza Viral Respiratory Infection. J Am Chem Soc. 2021 Apr 21;143(15):5958-5966. doi: 10.1021/jacs.1c01565. Epub 2021 Apr 7. PMID: 33825470

de Vries RD, Schmitz KS, Bovier FT, Predella C, Khao J, Noack D, Haagmans BL, Herfst S, Stearns KN, Drew-Bear J, Biswas S, Rockx B, McGill G, Dorrello NV, Gellman SH, Alabi CA*, de Swart RL*, Moscona A*, Porotto M*. Intranasal fusion inhibitory lipopeptide prevents direct-contact SARS-CoV-2 transmission in ferrets. Science. 2021 Feb 17:eabf4896. doi: 10.1126/science.abf4896. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33597220. (*co-corresponding/co-senior)

Marcink TC, Wang T, des Georges A, Porotto M, Moscona A. Human parainfluenza virus fusion complex glycoproteins imaged in action on authentic viral surfaces. PLoS Pathog. 2020 Sep 21;16(9):e1008883. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008883. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32956394.

Marcink TC, Yariv E, Rybkina K, Más V, Bovier FT, des Georges A, Greninger AL, Alabi CA, Porotto M, Ben-Tal N, Moscona A. 2020. Hijacking the fusion complex of human parainfluenza virus as an antiviral strategy. mBio 11:e03203-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.03203-19.

Moscona A. 2020. Chikungunya infection: de-linking replication from symptomatology reveals the central role of muscle. J Clin Invest. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI134746.

Outlaw VK, Lemke JT, Zhu Y, Gellman SH, Porotto M, Moscona A. Structure-Guided Improvement of a Dual HPIV3/RSV Fusion Inhibitor. J Am Chem Soc. 2020 Jan 23. doi: 10.1021/jacs.9b11548. PMID: 31951396

*Porotto, M, Ferren, M, Chen, Y-W, Siu, Y, Makhsous, N, Rima, B, Briese, T, Greninger, AL, Snoeck, H-W, Moscona, A. Authentic modeling of human respiratory virus infection in human pluripotent stem cell-derived lung organoids. MBio. 2019 May 7;10(3). pii: e00723-19. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00723-19.

Outlaw VK, Bottom-Tanzer S, Kreitler DF, Gellman SH, Porotto M, Moscona A. Dual Inhibition of Human Parainfluenza Type 3 and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infectivity with a Single Agent. J Am Chem Soc. 2019 Aug 14;141(32):12648-12656. doi: 10.1021/jacs.9b04615. Epub 2019 Aug 5. PMID: 31268705

*Bottom-Tanzer SF, Rybkina K, Bell JN, Alabi CA, Mathieu C, Lu M, Biswas S, Vasquez M, Porotto M, Melero JA, Más V, Moscona A. Inhibiting Human Parainfluenza Virus Infection by Preactivating the Cell Entry Mechanism. MBio. 2019 Feb 19;10(1). pii: e02900-18. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02900-18. PMID: 30782664

*Iketani S, Shean RC, Ferren M, Makhsous N, Aquino DB, des Georges A, Rima B, Mathieu C, Porotto M, Moscona A, Greninger AL. Viral Entry Properties Required for Fitness in Humans Are Lost through Rapid Genomic Change during Viral Isolation. MBio. 2018 Jul 3;9(4). pii: e00898-18. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00898-18. PMID: 29970463 (corresponding author, co-senior)

*Mathieu C, Porotto M, Figueira T, Horvat B, Moscona A. Fusion Inhibitory Lipopeptides Engineered for Prophylaxis of Nipah Virus in Primates. J Infect Dis. 2018 Mar 16. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiy152

Augusto MT, Hollmann A, Porotto M, Moscona A, Santos NC. Antiviral Lipopeptide-Cell Membrane Interaction Is Influenced by PEG Linker Length. Molecules. 2017 Jul 15;22(7). pii: E1190. doi: 10.3390/molecules22071190. PMID:28714870

Chen YW, Huang SX, de Carvalho ALRT, Ho SH, Islam MN, Volpi S, Notarangelo LD, Ciancanelli M, Casanova JL, Bhattacharya J, Liang AF, Palermo LM, Porotto M, Moscona A, Snoeck HW. A three-dimensional model of human lung development and disease from pluripotent stem cells. Nat Cell Biol. 2017 May;19(5):542-549. doi: 10.1038/ncb3510. Epub 2017 Apr 24. PMID: 28436965

Figueira TN, Freire JM, Cunha-Santos C, Heras M, Gonsalves J, Moscona A, Porotto M, Salomao Veiga A, Castanho MA. Quantitative analysis of molecular partition towards lipid membranes using surface plasmon resonance. Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 30;7:45647. doi: 10.1038/srep45647. PMID: 28358389

*Mathieu C, Augusto MT, Niewiesk S, Horvat B, Palermo LM, Sanna G, Madeddu S, Huey D, Castanho MA, Porotto M, Santos NC, Moscona A. Broad spectrum antiviral activity for paramyxoviruses is modulated by biophysical properties of fusion inhibitory peptides. Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 8;7:43610. doi: 10.1038/srep43610. PMID: 28344321

Figueira TN, Palermo LM, Veiga AS, Huey D, Alabi CA, Santos NC, Welsch JC, Mathieu C, Horvat B, Niewiesk S, Moscona A, Castanho MA, Porotto M. In Vivo Efficacy of Measles Virus Fusion Protein-Derived Peptides Is Modulated by the Properties of Self-Assembly and Membrane Residence. J Virol. 2016 Dec 16;91(1). pii: e01554-16. PMID: 27733647

*Palermo LM, Uppal M, Skrabanek L, Zumbo P, Germer S, Toussaint N, Huey D, Rima B, Niewiesk S, Porotto, M, Moscona A*. Features of Circulating Parainfluenza Virus Required for Growth in Human Airway. MBio. 2016 Mar 15;7(2). pii: e00235-16. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00235-16 

*Gui L, Jurgens EM, Ebner JL, Porotto M, Moscona A*, Lee KK*. Electron tomography imaging of surface glycoproteins on human parainfluenza virus 3: Association of receptor binding and fusion proteins before receptor engagement. MBio. 2015 Feb 17;6(1):e02393-14. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02393-14. PMID: 25691596 (*senior, co-corresponding)

*Jurgens EM, Mathieu C, Palermo LM, Hardie D, Horvat B, Moscona A*+, Porotto M*. Measles fusion machinery is dysregulated in neuropathogenic variants. MBio. 2015 Feb 10;6(1). pii: e02528-14. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02528-14. PMID: 25670774 (*senior, co-corresponding)

*Mathieu C, Huey D, Jurgens E, Welsch JC, DeVito I, Talekar A, Horvat B, Niewiesk S, Moscona A*, Porotto M*. Prevention of Measles Virus Infection by Intranasal Delivery of Fusion Inhibitor Peptides. J Virol. 2015 Jan 15;89(2):1143-1155. Epub 2014 Nov 5. (*senior, co-corresponding)

*Palmer SG, DeVito I, Jenkins SG, Niewiesk S, Porotto M, Moscona A. 2014. Circulating clinical strains of human parainfluenza virus reveal the viral entry requirements for in vivo infection. J Virol. 2014 Sep 10. pii: JVI.01965-14. 

*Xu R, Palmer SG, Porotto M, Palermo LM, Niewiesk S, Wilson IA, Moscona A. 2013. Interaction between the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase and fusion glycoproteins of human parainfluenza virus type III regulates viral growth in vivo. mBio 4(5):e00803-13. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00803-13. 

Welsch JC, Talekar A, Mathieu C, Pessi A, Moscona A, Horvat B, Porotto M. Fatal Measles Infection Prevented by Brain-Penetrant Fusion Inhibitors. J Virol. 2013 Oct 9. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 2410923. (Editor's spotlight)

Talekar A, Moscona A*, Porotto M*. Measles fusion machinery activated by sialic acid binding globular domain. J Virol. 2013 Dec;87(24):13619-27. doi: 10.1128/JVI.02256-13. Epub 2013 Oct 9. PMID: 24109225 (*senior, co-corresponding)

Talekar A, Devito I, Salah Z, Palmer SG, Chattopadhyay A, Rose JK, Xu R, Wilson IA, Moscona A, Porotto M. Identification of a region in the stalk domain of the nipah virus receptor binding protein that is critical for fusion activation. J Virol. 2013 Oct;87(20):10980-96. doi: 10.1128/JVI.01646-13. Epub 2013 Jul 31. PMID: 23903846

*Porotto M, Salah ZW, Gui L, Devito I, Jurgens EM, Lu H, Yokoyama CC, Palermo LM, Lee K, Moscona A. Regulation of paramyxovirus fusion activation: the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase protein stabilizes the fusion protein in a pre-triggered state. J Virol. 2012 Dec;86(23):12838-48. doi: 10.1128/JVI.01965-12. Epub 2012 Sep 19. 

*Palmer S, Porotto M, Palermo LM, Cunha L, Greengard O, Moscona A. Adaptation of human parainfluenza virus to airway epithelium reveals fusion properties required for growth in host tissue. mBio. 2012 Jun 5;3(3). pii: e00137-12. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00137-12. Print 2012.

*Porotto M, Salah Z, Devito I, Talekar A, Palmer SG, Xu R, Wilson IA, Moscona A. The second receptor binding site of the globular head of the Newcastle disease virus (NDV) hemagglutinin-neuraminidase activates the stalk of multiple paramyxovirus receptor binding proteins to trigger fusion. J Virol. 2012 May;86(10):5730-41. Epub 2012 Mar 21. 

*Porotto M, Palmer S, Palermo L, and Moscona A. Mechanism of fusion triggering by paramyxoviruses: Communication between viral glycoproteins during entry. Journal of Biological Chemistry Jan 2;287(1):778-93, 2012. Epub 2011 Nov 22. (*senior, corresponding)

Lee K, Pessi A, Gui A, Santoprete A, Talekar A, Moscona A, Porotto M. Capturing a fusion intermediate of influenza hemagglutinin with a cholesterol-conjugated peptide: a new antiviral strategy for influenza virus. J Biol Chem. 2011 Dec 9;286(49):42141-9. Epub 2011 Oct 12.

*Porotto M, DeVito I, Palmer S, Jurgens EM, Yee J, Yokoyama CC, Pessi A, Moscona A. Spring-loaded model revisited: Paramyxovirus fusion requires engagement of a receptor binding protein beyond initial triggering of the fusion protein. J Virol. 2011 Dec;85(24):12867-80. Epub 2011 Oct 5 (*senior, corresponding)

*Farzan S, Palermo LM, Yokoyama CC, Orefice G, Fornabaio M, Sarkar A, Kellogg GE, Greengard O, Porotto M, Moscona A. Premature activation of the paramyxovirus fusion protein before target cell attachment: corruption of the viral fusion machinery. J Biol Chem. 2011 Nov 4;286(44):37945-54. Epub 2011 Jul 28 (*senior, corresponding)

*Porotto M, Rockx B, Yokoyama CC, Talekar A, DeVito I, Palermo LM, Cortese R, Lu M, Feldmann H, Pessi A, Moscona A. Inhibition of Nipah virus infection in vivo: Targeting an early stage of paramyxovirus fusion activation during viral entry. PLoS Pathogens 6 (10): e1001168. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1001168, 2010. (*senior, corresponding)

*Porotto M, Yokoyama C, Palermo LM, Mungall B, Aljofan M, Cortese R, Pessi A, Moscona A. Viral entry inhibitors targeted to the membrane site of action. Journal of Virology 84 (13): 6760-6768, 2010. (*senior, corresponding)

*Moscona A, Porotto M, Palmer S, Tai C, Aschenbrenner L, Triana-Baltzer G, Li H, Wurtman D, Niewiesk S, Fang F. A recombinant sialidase fusion protein effectively inhibits human parainfluenza viral infection in vitro and in vivo. Journal of Infectious Diseases 202 (2): 234-241, 2010. (*senior, co-corresponding)