Nicholas Maness, PhD
Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Education & Affiliations
Research
The overarching goal of my lab is to understand immune mechanisms of viral control primarily with the use of animal models of viral pathogens that cause human disease. Our focus spans multiple viruses, including HIV, SIV, Zika and other flaviviruses, and more recently SARS-CoV-2. We study the interface between virus and host using molecular and immunological approaches (e.g. flow cytometry, ELISpot, RNA-seq, targeted mutants of viral genomes, and next-gen viral sequencing) to assess host immunity as well as viral replication and evolution, with the ultimate goal of understanding how viruses are brought under control and eliminated from the host.
I also direct a virology and sequencing core (VCIPS) where we provide centralized virological and next gen sequencing services for Tulane and external collaborators. We work with viruses at both biosafety levels 2 and 3 (including SARS-CoV-2) and are authorized to work with select agents. We provide live viruses for in vitro and in vivo experiments and perform live virus neutralization and inhibition assays. We also use both Illumina and Oxford Nanopore sequencing approaches to assess both pathogen (viral, bacterial, 16s microbiome), and host (e.g. genotyping).
Research Programs include:
• HIV/SIV
• COVID-19
• Zika Virus
• Emerging Viruses
• Therapeutics/Vaccines
• Nonhuman primate model development
• Gene therapy/genetics
Contributions
Melton A, Doyle-Meyers LA, Blair RV, Midkiff C, Melton HJ, Russell-Lodrigue K, Aye PP, Schiro F, Fahlberg M, Szeltner D, Spencer S, Beddingfield BJ, Goff K, Golden N, Penney T, Picou B, Hensley K, Chandler KE, Plante JA, Plante KS, Weaver SC, Roy CJ, Hoxie JA, Gao H, Montefiori DC, Mankowski JL, Bohm RP, Rappaport J, Maness NJ. The pigtail macaque (Macaca nemestrina) model of COVID-19 reproduces diverse clinical outcomes and reveals new and complex signatures of disease. PLoS Pathog. 2021;17(12):e1010162. Epub 20211220. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010162. PubMed PMID: 34929014; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPMC8722729.
Fears, A. C., B. J. Beddingfield, N. R. Chirichella, N. Slisarenko, S. Z. Killeen, R. K. Redmann, K. Goff, S. Spencer, B. Picou, N. Golden, C. C. Midkiff, D. J. Bush, L. M. Branco, M. L. Boisen, H. Gao, D. C. Montefiori, R. V Blair, L. A. Doyle-Meyers, K. Russell-Lodrigue, N. J. Maness, and C. J. Roy. 2022. Exposure modality influences viral kinetics but not respiratory outcome of COVID-19 in multiple nonhuman primate species. PLoS Pathog. 18: e1010618.
Lawrence SP, Elser SE, Torben W, Blair RV, Pahar B, Aye PP, Schiro F, Szeltner D, Doyle-Meyers LA, Haggarty B, Jordan APO, Romano J, Alvarez X, O’Connor DH, Wiseman RW, Fennessey CM, Li Y, Piatak M, Lifson JD, LaBranche CC, Lackner AA, Keele BF, Maness NJ, Marsh M, Hoxie JA. A cellular trafficking signal in the SIV envelope protein cytoplasmic domain is strongly selected for in pathogenic SIV infection. PLoS Pathog. 2022 Jun 17;18(6):e1010507. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010507. eCollection 2022 Jun. PMID: 35714165
Rowe, LA, Beddingfield BJ, Goff K, Killeen SZ, Chirichella NR, Melton A, Roy CJ, Maness NJ. Intra-host SARS-CoV-2 evolution in the gut of mucosally-infected Chlorocebus aethiops (African green monkeys). Viruses. 2022 Jan 1;14(1):77. doi: 10.3390/v14010077.
Arunachalam PS, Walls AC, Golden N, Atyeo C, Fischinger S, Li C, Aye P, Navarro MJ, Lai L, Edara VV, Roltgen K, Rogers K, Shirreff L, Ferrell DE, Wrenn S, Pettie D, Kraft JC, Miranda MC, Kepl E, Sydeman C, Brunette N, Murphy M, Fiala B, Carter L, White AG, Trisal M, Hsieh CL, Russell-Lodrigue K, Monjure C, Dufour J, Doyle-Meyers L, Bohm RP, Maness NJ, Roy C, Plante JA, Plante KS, Zhu A, Gorman MJ, Shin S, Shen X, Fontenot J, Gupta S, DT OH, Most RV, Rappuoli R, Coffman RL, Novack D, McLellan JS, Subramaniam S, Montefiori D, et al. 2021. Adjuvanting a subunit SARS-CoV-2 nanoparticle vaccine to induce protective immunity in non-human primates. Nature. 2021 Apr 19. 10.1038/s41586-021-03530-2.
