Matthew Evans
2008 Regional Award Finalist — Post-Doc
Current Position:
Associate Professor of Microbiology
Institution:
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Discipline:
Immunology & Microbiology
Recognized for: Significant contributions in the field of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) research.
Areas of research interest and expertise: Hepatitis C virus
Biography:
- PhD, Cellular, Molecular and Biophysical Studies, Columbia University
- B.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
The goal of Matthew Evans research is to develop better models and treatments for the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) which impacts more than three million people in the United States. Although HCV therapies have vastly improved over the last few years, eradicating this important pathogen will require a yet elusive protective vaccine. The lack of an immunocompetent animal that supports HCV infection has severely hampered the development of such a vaccine.
Scientists have tried for decades to develop animal models to study HCV, but the virus was incapable of infecting any species except for humans. By differentiating monkey stem cells into liver cells and inducing successful infection Dr. Evans was part of a team that demonstrated that HCV could replicate in monkeys. Their findings, published in the journal Gastroenterology in November 2013, may lead to the development of the first new immunocompetent HCV animal model and provide new avenues for developing treatments and vaccines for this disease.
"Although we can render a mouse able to support HCV infection by expression of two human entry factors, these animals have other blocks that prevent subsequent viral replication. We believe that animals that are more closely related to humans may have fewer hurdles for viral replication and thus may be more feasible targets to which adapt the virus.”
Key Publications:
- Sourrisseau M, Goldman O, He W, Gori JL, Kiem HP, Gouon-Evans V, Evans MJ. Hepatic Cells Derived from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells of Pigtail Macaques Support Hepatitis C Virus infection. Gastroenterology, 2013
- Sourisseau M, Michta ML, Zony C, Israelow B, Hopcraft SE, Narbus CM, Martin AP, Evans MJ. Temporal analysis of hepatitis C virus cell entry with occludin directed blocking antibodies. PLoS Pathogens, 2013
- Michta ML, Hopcraft SE, Narbus CM, Kratovac Z, Israelow B, Sourisseau M, Evans MJ. Species-specific regions of occludin required for hepatitis C virus cell entry. J Virol. 2010
Other Honors:
2010 - 2015 Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences