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
Schedule an Appointment
Connect Patient Portal
For existing patients, login to make an appointment, view documentation or contact your care provider.
Insurance Accepted
Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield
- Mediblue (Senior)
Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield
- PPO
UnitedHealthcare
- Compass (Exchange)
- HMO
United Healthcare
- Community Plan
*Before your appointment, please contact the doctor’s office or your insurance provider to verify that your insurance is accepted. This list of insurances can change, and the insurance plans listed may not be accepted at all office locations for this provider.
Credentials & Experience
Education & Training
- MD, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
- BA, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, Harvard College
- Residency: Mount Sinai Medical Center
- Fellowship: Mount Sinai Medical Center
Committees, Societies, Councils
- 2023 - 2024: President, American Society for Virology
- 2019 - 2022: Councilor for Medical Virology, American Society for Virology
- 2018 - 2025: Committee on Election of the American Academy of Microbiology
- 2009 - present: American Academy of Microbiology, Fellow
- 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 - 2001: 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
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
- Kuhn AJ, Outlaw VK, Marcink TC, Yu Z, Mears MC, Cajimat MN, Kreitler DF, Cleven PR, Mook JC, Bente DA, Porotto M, Gellman SH, Moscona A. Enhancing the solubility of SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors to increase future prospects for clinical development. J Virol. 2025 Mar 18;99(3):e0215924. doi: 10.1128/jvi.02159-24. Epub 2025 Feb 4. PMID: 39902960 Free PMC article.
- Marcink TC, Zipursky G, Sobolik EB, Golub K, Herman E, Stearns K, Greninger AL, Porotto M, Moscona A. How a paramyxovirus fusion/entry complex adapts to escape a neutralizing antibody. Nat Commun. 2024 Oct 12;15(1):8831. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-53082-y. PMID: 39396053; PMCID: PMC11470942.
- Stearns K, Lampe G, Hanan R, Marcink T, Niewiesk S, Sternberg SH, Greninger AL, Porotto M, Moscona A. Human parainfluenza virus 3 field strains undergo extracellular fusion protein cleavage to activate entry. mBio. 2024 Oct 9:e0232724. doi: 10.1128/mbio.02327-24. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39382296.
- Suryadevara N, Otrelo-Cardoso AR, Kose N, Hu YX, Binshtein E, Wolters RM, Greninger AL, Handal LS, Carnahan RH, Moscona A, Jardetzky TS, Crowe JE Jr. Functional and structural basis of human parainfluenza virus type 3 neutralization with human monoclonal antibodies. Nat Microbiol. 2024 Aug;9(8):2128-2143. doi: 10.1038/s41564-024-01722-w. Epub 2024 Jun 10. PMID: 38858594.
- Su, Rui, Zeng, Jin, Marcink, Tara C., Porotto, Matteo, Moscona, Anne, O’Shaughnessy, Ben. Host Cell Membrane Capture by the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Fusion Intermediate. ACS Central Science 2023; 10.1021/acscentsci.3c00158
- 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
- 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 persistence. J Clin Invest. 2021. 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)
- Outlaw VK, Bovier FT, Mears MC, Cajimat MN, Zhu Y, Lin MJ, Addetia A, Lieberman NAP, Peddu V, Xie X, Shi PY, Greninger AL, Gellman SH, Bente DA, Moscona A*, Porotto M*. Inhibition of Coronavirus Entry In Vitro and Ex Vivo by a Lipid-Conjugated Peptide Derived from the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein HRC Domain. mBio. 2020 Oct 20;11(5):e01935-20. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01935-20.PMID: 33082259 (*co-corresponding)
- 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.
- Outlaw VK, Kreitler DF, Stelitano D, Porotto M, Moscona A* Gellman SH*. Effects of single α-to-β residue replacements on recognition of an extended segment in a viral fusion protein. ACS Infect Dis. 2020 Jul 21. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.0c00385. PMID: 32692914 (*co-corresponding)
- 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
For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov