Annabel Olson Barraza, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at UNMC and an NIH NIAID K22 Career Transition Award scholar. The Barraza lab focuses on Kaposi’s Sarcoma Herpesvirus (KSHV/HHV-8) associated diseases including Kaposi’s sarcoma, which is a leading AIDS-defining cancer among people living with HIV. By employing multidisciplinary approaches spanning molecular biology, virology, cancer biology and pharmacology, the lab combines mechanistic studies with collaborative work involving physician-scientists and engineers to translate discoveries into clinical disease settings and to advance novel disease models.

The Barraza lab focuses on Kaposi’s Sarcoma Herpesvirus (KSHV/HHV-8) associated diseases including Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), which is a leading AIDS-defining cancer among people living with HIV. KSHV persists primarily in a latent state within tumor cells, while a small subset supports lytic replication. Although both latent and lytic viral genes possess oncogenic properties, the relative contributions of latency and lytic replication to KS initiation and progression remain unclear. Because KS tumors have a low mutational burden, virus-driven rewiring of cellular signaling pathways and the tumor microenvironment are likely central to disease development.

To understand signaling pathways important for KSHV lifecycle and disease, the lab uses pioneering targeted protein degradation technology, specifically the degradation tag system, to precisely and rapidly deplete proteins of interest and evaluate their functions during infection. Since protein kinases are critical regulators of cellular signaling, the lab performed a polypharmacological-based kinome screen to uncover kinase regulators of KSHV latent-to-lytic replicative switch. The lab identified ten kinases not previously linked to KSHV reactivation, including the epidermal growth factor receptor kinase family. EGFR and HER2 are commonly mutated, overexpressed or dysregulated in genetic-based cancers (e.g. breast, lung and pancreatic cancers). The overall goals of the Barraza lab are to understand how kinases, including the ERBB kinases, promote or restrict KSHV replication, KS disease progression, and cellular signaling. Since limited biomarkers and therapies exist for KS, these findings will be used to nominate proteins of interest for downstream biomarker discovery and therapeutic development strategies. These long-term goals will require the development of innovative disease model systems including a 3D bioprinted skin-on-chip model of KS disease.

Interested in joining the Barraza lab? Please send formal inquiries to Dr. Barraza and include a current CV/resume and summary of past accomplishments, future goals, and general research interests.