Louis Mansky

Introduction

Louis M. Mansky, Ph.D., is a professor in the School of Dentistry at the University of Minnesota. He also is director of the Institute for Molecular Virology.

Mansky’s research group is heavily invested in harnessing state-of-the-art technologies (both experimental and computational) in advancing the key research questions, including a fundamental understanding of 1) viral mutagenesis and evolution (and therapeutic implications) and 2) molecular and cellular aspects of virus particle assembly and transmission (and therapeutic implications). They primarily study the human retroviruses – human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV; cause of an adult T-cell leukemia) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; cause of AIDS). 

Mansky’s research group also conducts comparative studies with a variety of other viruses. Key interdisciplinary technologies they are currently employing span from quantitative imaging techniques (e.g., fluorescence microscopy at single molecule resolution, cryo-transmission electron tomography) to ultrasensitive, next-generation DNA sequencing (e.g., single-strand consensus sequencing) to large data informatics analyses (sensitive mutation detection bioinformatics analyses, 3D-reconstructions of virus particle structure). An important aspect of the research is understanding the fundamental virus-host interactions that are crucial for virus replication, virus transmission and viral pathogenesis.