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| Name |
Summers, Michael F. |
| Location
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University of Maryland, Baltimore County |
| Primary Field
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Biophysics and Computational Biology |
| Secondary Field
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Biochemistry |
 Election Citation
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Summers is a leader in the structural and mechanistic aspects of retroviral genome packaging, maturation, and virus assembly. His findings have provided a long-sought explanation for how retroviruses selectively package a diploid genome and how Gag protein is targeted to the plasma membrane for virus assembly.
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Research Interests
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Dr. Summers' research focuses on the application of NMR and biophysical methods to understand the structural determinants and mechanisms of retroviral genome packaging and virus assembly. His lab has developed tools that enable NMR-based structural studies of relatively large RNAs and protein-RNA complexes, including the intact 5'-leader and RNA packaging signal of the HIV-1 genome. He is currently focusing on the interactions and structure of the ribonucleoprotein complex that nucleates HIV-1 particle assembly.
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