Audray K. Harris, Ph.D.

Stadtman Investigator

Structural Informatics Unit

NIAID/DIR

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Building 50, Room 46349
50 South Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892

301-594-2206

harrisau@mail.nih.gov

Research Topics

Our research area is the structural biology of viruses and vaccine particles. One goal of the research is to understand the molecular organization of viruses in order to gain insights into virus assembly and function. Another goal is to study the organization of conserved viral epitopes on vaccine particles to help inform vaccine development. The research program exploits 3D electron microscopy of viruses and protein complexes with antibodies to obtain structural information on epitope disposition and conformational states. Structural analyses are supported by other structural, biochemical, and immunological analyses in order to understand immunogenicity, antigen-antibody interactions and aid in structure-assisted design of nanoparticles for vaccines. A major focus is on the structure, assembly, and epitope display of influenza proteins and viral particles.

HIV gp 140 trimers Influenza virus particles

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 Saturday, August 19, 2023