SUMMARY
Patricia Devaux, Ph.D., focuses her research on negative-strand RNA viruses, with a primary interest in the measles virus from the Paramyxoviridae family. Dr. Devaux advances the understanding of how the measles virus enters and disseminates within its host. She also studies how viruses can escape the host's innate immunity and how they control immune responses.
Dr. Devaux is creating a safe and efficient platform to deliver multiple genes to treat genetic and nongenetic diseases. Her team is developing the measles vaccine as a new viral vector for this purpose. The team built a reverse genetic system that allows the production of a recombinant virus equivalent to the Moraten vaccine strain, which is currently used for vaccinating children in the United States.
Dr. Devaux's other research interests focus on how the measles virus interacts with the interferon response, particularly within the context of the reprogramming process. She has shown that the measles virus phosphoprotein interacts with STAT1, and her studies involve characterizing the interaction between both proteins at the molecular level. Her team is also investigating whether and how the innate immune response plays a role in the reprogramming process.
Research in Dr. Devaux's lab includes vector development, cell reprogramming into induced pluripotent stem cells, genome editing, and therapeutic development for blood and neurological disorders, such as sickle cell anemia and Parkinson's disease.
Focus areas
- Single-cycle measles vectors. Dr. Devaux and her team developed a single-cycle measles vector for gene delivery. They are continuously improving this vector system for multiple purposes, including increasing the size and the number of potential genes to be delivered. One of their primary goals is to develop a viral vector that can be administered directly to patients.
- Reprogramming somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Dr. Devaux's lab developed a reliable and efficient measles reprogramming vector that produces iPSCs from somatic cells. Using this vector, her team is understanding the mechanism behind the reprogramming process, the role of innate immune response and the role of each reprogramming factor in this process.
- Genome editing using Cas9, base editors and prime editors. Dr. Devaux's lab developed an efficient measles editing vector using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology. Her team is creating a new vector for base and prime editing, as well as a platform for in vivo delivery, with the goal of treating inherited red blood cell disorders such as sickle cell disease.
Significance to patient care
Growing transplantable tissues from a patient's own stem cells is an important advance in personalized cell therapy. This may help treat diabetes, heart failure, spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. It also helps scientists study how diseases progress in the lab and find treatments for each patient.
Dr. Devaux advances the field of gene and cell therapy by creating special viruses for gene editing and cell reprogramming. She also develops new treatments for genetic diseases such as sickle cell anemia and Parkinson's disease.