Helen Lazear

Associate Professor (Microbiology & Immunology)

9021 Burnett-Womack Building
919-966-3708
helen.lazear [at] med.unc.edu
@lazearlab.bsky.social

Helen grew up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and did her undergraduate studies at the University of Alberta. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied herpes simplex virus neuronal transport in Dr. Harvey Friedman's lab. Her postdoctoral research, with Dr. Mike Diamond at Washington University in St. Louis, focused on innate immune control of West Nile virus pathogenesis. She joined the Microbiology and Immunology Department at UNC in Fall 2015. Work in the Lazear Lab focuses on pathogenic mechanisms of flaviviruses and the innate immune mechanisms that determine tissue and species tropism.

Publications

Melissa Mattocks

Lab Manager melissa_mattocks [at] med.unc.edu

Melissa grew up in North Carolina and received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from UNC-Chapel Hill. She worked on the development and production of a tetravalent dengue vaccine at the Carolina Vaccine Institute at UNC and later at Global Vaccines, Inc., a not-for-profit vaccine company. Melissa returned to UNC in 2016, joining the Lazear lab as Lab Manager.

Publications
Jasperse BA, Mattocks MD, Noll KE, Ferris MT, Heise MT, Lazear HM (2023) Neuroinvasive flavivirus pathogenesis is restricted by host genetic factors in Collaborative Cross mice, independently of Oas1b. Journal of Virology. PMID: 37310228
Mattocks MD, Plante KS, Fritch EJ, Baric RS, Ferris MT, Heise MT, Lazear HM (2019) Zika virus infection in Collaborative Cross mice. bioRxiv.

Drake Philip

PhD Student (Microbiology & Immunology) dphilip8 [at] live.unc.edu

Drake grew up in southwest Florida and studied Microbiology and Cell Science at the University of Florida, graduating in 2018. As an undergraduate he worked with Dr. Stephanie Karst characterizing the role of gut microbiota in priming the innate immune response that influences regionalization of murine norovirus infection throughout the gastrointestinal tract. This work inspired Drake’s interests in studying virus-host interactions. As a 5th-year PhD student in the Lazear Lab, Drake is studying the role of interferon lambda in the skin during herpes simplex virus infection. In his free time at UF, Drake was actively involved with the UF marching and concert bands, developing a passion for performing and listening to music.

Publications
Philip DT, Goins NM, Catanzaro NJ, Misumi I, Whitmire JK, Atkins HM, Lazear HM (2023) Interferon lambda restricts herpes simplex virus skin disease by suppressing neutrophil-mediated pathology. mBio. PMID: 38426749
Philip DT, Goins NM, Lazear HM (2023) A fur plucking model to study herpes simplex virus reactivation and recurrent disease. bioRxiv. PMID: 38106009

Margaret Dedloff

PhD Student (Microbiology & Immunology) mdedloff [at] email.unc.edu

Margaret grew up in western New York and studied Biology and History at Clarkson University, graduating in 2020. As an undergraduate, she worked with Dr. Kenneth Wallace characterizing the development of the intestinal stem cell niche in zebrafish. She also participated in an NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates and McNair Scholar Summer Research Program at the University of Georgia in the summers of 2018 and 2019 working with Dr. Eric Harvill understanding gene expression and pathogenesis of Bordetella bronchiseptica. As a 4th-year PhD student in the Lazear Lab, Margaret is studying congenital infections and immune mechanisms at the maternal-fetal interface.

Publications

Celeste Robles

PhD Student (Microbiology & Immunology) crrobles [at] email.unc.edu

Celeste grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and graduated with a B.S. in Biology from North Carolina A&T State University in 2023. As an undergraduate, she worked with Dr. Robert Newman using synthetic genomics approaches to re-engineer the mycobacteriophage Giles genome, to transform M. smegmatis. As a MARC scholar, she also participated in the Summer of Learning and Research (SOLAR) program at UNC in 2022, with Dr. James S. Hagood researching lung fibroblasts in a myofibrotic state, testing peptide mimetics and their potential for fibrosis resolution. As a 1st-year PhD student in the Lazear lab, Celeste is studying HSV reactivation in the skin and vaginal tract, as well as the role of hormonal status in regulating susceptibility to HSV vaginal infection.

Publications

Nigel Goins

Research Technician nigel1 [at] live.unc.edu

Nigel grew up in Fayetteville, NC, and graduated from UNC in 2023. He is studying immune mechanisms that control herpes simplex virus neuronal trafficking and skin disease.

Publications
Philip DT, Goins NM, Catanzaro NJ, Misumi I, Whitmire JK, Atkins HM, Lazear HM (2023) Interferon lambda restricts herpes simplex virus skin disease by suppressing neutrophil-mediated pathology. mBio. PMID: 38426749
Philip DT, Goins NM, Lazear HM (2023) A fur plucking model to study herpes simplex virus reactivation and recurrent disease. bioRxiv. PMID: 38106009

Tommy Reinhardt

Undergraduate Researcher thomrein [at] unc.edu

Tommy is a Junior majoring in biology with a chemistry minor.

Publications

Derek Carbaugh
M&I PhD student (2020)
Scientist, AskBio
Contact
Publications

Viren Baharani
UNC Biology Undergrad Student (2021)
PhD Student, Rockefeller University
Contact
Publications

Cesar Lopez
M&I PhD Student/MSTP (2021)
Resident/Fellow UCSF
Contact
Publications

Tesia Bobrowski
UNC Biology Undergrad Student (2021)
PhD Student, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
Contact
Publications

Recent BBSP rotation students (rotation year, thesis lab):
Shenice Harrison (2024, Edward Lab)
Isabel Ott (2024, Matute Lab)
Camryn Pajon (2023, Sheahan Lab)
Che Kang Chang (2023, Heise Lab)
Fulla Abdelgadir (2022, Heise & Gralinski Labs)
Jenny Loome (2018, Heise Lab)
Marta Cruz Cisneros (2018, Heise Lab)

Former Graduate Students:
Josh Nielsen (2020-2023; PhD Student, Cameron Lab)

Former Postdocs:
Nick Catanzaro (2020-2022; Research Associate, Baric Lab)

Former UNC undergraduate students (graduation, current position):
Cameron Somerville (Biology 2024)
Shefali Gandhi (Chemistry 2020)
Leah Gilmore (Biology 2018, Clinical Trials Assistant IQVIA)

Other Alumni:
Pedro Martinez Barbosa (UNC PREP Scholar, 2020)
Nissi Ficklin (NC Central Undergrad, Summer Research Opportunity Program, 2021)