Lisa Lindesmith
University of North Carolina, USA
Biography
Lisa Lindesmith is a Research Specialist collaborating with Dr. Ralph Baric since 1999 to study the molecular mechanisms regulating norovirus evolution, susceptibility, and protective immunity. Major contributions include: i) Identifcation of FUT2 (histoblood group antigen expression) as a major norovirus susceptibility allele; ii) demonstration that GII.4 noroviruses are evolving by epochal evolution in response to human herd immunity; iii) first to map neutralizing blockade epitopeselucidating the molecular mechanisms which allow GII.4 norovirus escape from herd immunity, iv) first to identify strategies to increase the breadth of blockade immune responses by multivalent vaccination in mice and humans.