The National Institutes of Health (NIH) granted $2,177,313 to  Dr. Erica Sanchez  for her project on Molecular Mechanisms Drive Metabolic and Lipid Profiles that Define Cells in the Latent and Lytic Stages of Viral Infection. The research in her project supports how viruses reshape cellular metabolism during infection. Her project also focuses on herpesvirus infection and the distinct ways they alter host cells to survive long-term or actively replicate.

Although there is research that shows how viruses rely on host metabolism, the precise molecular processes involved remain largely unknown. Dr. Sanchez will address this research gap by combining spatial metabolomics and lipidomics with single-cell and spatial RNA sequencing to examine how different cell populations regulate metabolism during infection.

This project aims to reveal fundamental mechanisms that maintain cellular balance under viral stress, with findings that could guide future strategies for disease prevention and treatment. Dr. Sanchez’s project will also contribute to the field of Biology.