Audray K. Harris, Ph.D.

Senior Investigator

Structural Informatics Unit

NIAID/DIR

View Site

Building 50, Room 6351
50 South Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892

240-669-5482

harrisau@mail.nih.gov

Research Topics

The Structural Informatics Unit (SIU) seeks to elucidate the molecular architecture of viral proteins and the roles that factors, such as pH environment and protein modification and variation, play in modulating structure-function, epitope display, and viral pathogenesis. The research program exploits 3D electron microscopy of viruses and protein complexes with antibodies to obtain structural information. Structural analyses are supported by other structural, biochemical, and immunological analyses in order to understand antigen-antibody interactions and aid in structure-assisted immunogen design for infectious diseases. Our research program integrates structural and biochemical studies with bioinformatics to facilitate a collaborative synergy between these disciplines in the context of the focus of structure-function studies of viruses and viral proteins. A major focus is on the antigenicity, structure, and function of respiratory viruses, such as influenza.

Biography

Dr. Harris received his Ph.D. in 2002 from The University of Alabama at Birmingham. Following postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, he joined the National Cancer Institute as a research fellow. In 2012, Dr. Harris was selected as an Earl Stadman Investigator and in 2013 joined the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases.

Selected Publications

  1. Myers ML, Gallagher JR, Kim AJ, Payne WH, Maldonado-Puga S, Assimakopoulos H, Bock KW, Torian U, Moore IN, Harris AK. Commercial influenza vaccines vary in HA-complex structure and in induction of cross-reactive HA antibodies. Nat Commun. 2023;14(1):1763.
  2. Myers ML, Gallagher JR, Woolfork DD, Stradtmann-Carvalho RK, Maldonado-Puga S, Bock KW, Boyoglu-Barnum S, Syeda H, Creanga A, Alves DA, Kanekiyo M, Harris AK. Impact of adjuvant: Trivalent vaccine with quadrivalent-like protection against heterologous Yamagata-lineage influenza B virus. Front Immunol. 2022;13:1002286.
  3. Moin SM, Boyington JC, Boyoglu-Barnum S, Gillespie RA, Cerutti G, Cheung CS, Cagigi A, Gallagher JR, Brand J, Prabhakaran M, Tsybovsky Y, Stephens T, Fisher BE, Creanga A, Ataca S, Rawi R, Corbett KS, Crank MC, Karlsson Hedestam GB, Gorman J, McDermott AB, Harris AK, Zhou T, Kwong PD, Shapiro L, Mascola JR, Graham BS, Kanekiyo M. Co-immunization with hemagglutinin stem immunogens elicits cross-group neutralizing antibodies and broad protection against influenza A viruses. Immunity. 2022;55(12):2405-2418.e7.
  4. Kanekiyo M, Joyce MG, Gillespie RA, Gallagher JR, Andrews SF, Yassine HM, Wheatley AK, Fisher BE, Ambrozak DR, Creanga A, Leung K, Yang ES, Boyoglu-Barnum S, Georgiev IS, Tsybovsky Y, Prabhakaran MS, Andersen H, Kong WP, Baxa U, Zephir KL, Ledgerwood JE, Koup RA, Kwong PD, Harris AK, McDermott AB, Mascola JR, Graham BS. Mosaic nanoparticle display of diverse influenza virus hemagglutinins elicits broad B cell responses. Nat Immunol. 2019;20(3):362-372.
  5. Dowd KA, Ko SY, Morabito KM, Yang ES, Pelc RS, DeMaso CR, Castilho LR, Abbink P, Boyd M, Nityanandam R, Gordon DN, Gallagher JR, Chen X, Todd JP, Tsybovsky Y, Harris A, Huang YS, Higgs S, Vanlandingham DL, Andersen H, Lewis MG, De La Barrera R, Eckels KH, Jarman RG, Nason MC, Barouch DH, Roederer M, Kong WP, Mascola JR, Pierson TC, Graham BS. Rapid development of a DNA vaccine for Zika virus. Science. 2016;354(6309):237-240.

Related Scientific Focus Areas

This page was last updated on Monday, May 12, 2025