Brooke Enney

Research Associate I Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology

About Brooke

I am working on expressing the nonstructural protein 1 specific nanobodies and determining their ability to reduce alphavirus replicate in infected cells. The goal of my project is to determine if expressing nsp1 specific nanobodies has a negative affect on alphavirus replication in infected BHK cells. Studying alphaviral infection is important because they are cause of several large outbreaks and epidemics across the globe. We currently do not have any vaccines or therapies against these viral infections so by studying the possible antiviral effect of these nsp1 expressing nanobodies we can later establish a possible therapy. By partnering with Dr. Brad Borlee's lab, if we find that these expressing nanobodies do have a significant effect on viral replicate within infected cells than we can insert the nanobodies into bacteria that are able to infect mosquito cells. This allows for easier expression of nanobodies without production of transgenic mosquitoes. These infected bacteria will then infect mosquitoes in the environment where this virus is highly prevalent making then resistant to alphavirus replication. This process is known as insect paratransgenesis. I am currently obtaining my Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases here at Colorado State University. I currently consider myself a baby virologist and hope to peruse something in this field or connecting virology with immunology later in my life. In my free time I love doing anything outside or active especially during the Colorado summers. I enjoy weightlifting, hiking, camping, riding my horse whom I competitively show and paddle boarding at Horsetooth!