Andrew Burdette Email and Phone Number

Part of the Butler Summer Institute research program from May 20th 2024 to July 20th 2024Since the onset of COVID-19, research has focused on finding effective treatments targeting the replication of coronaviruses. My research explores the potential of drugs to inhibit the 3CL protease, a key enzyme in coronavirus replication. These drugs have already shown promise against SARS-CoV-2 and OC43, and I aim to test their efficacy against another coronavirus, HKU1, using chimeric mouse hepatitis viruses expressing the 3CL proteases of HKU1 and OC43. Through a series of cytotoxicity tests, replication inhibition assays, and protease-specific inhibition studies, I hope to demonstrate that these drugs can effectively disrupt the replication of these viruses, paving the way for new treatments for coronavirus infections.