Susan Weiss

Last updated
Susan R. Weiss
Alma mater Brandeis University (BA)
Harvard University (PhD)
Known for Coronavirus
Scientific career
Institutions Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
University of California, San Francisco
Thesis Analysis of Newcastle disease virus messenger RNA and poly (A)  (1976)
External audio
Nuvola apps arts.svg “Pandemic Perspectives: Interview with Susan Weiss”, May 21, 2020, Science History Institute.

Susan R. Weiss is an American microbiologist who is a Professor of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds vice chair positions for the Department of Microbiology and for Faculty Development. [1] Her research considers the biology of coronaviruses, including SARS, MERS and SARS-CoV-2. As of March 2020, Weiss serves as Co-Director of the University of Pennsylvania/Penn Medicine Center for Research on Coronavirus and Other Emerging Pathogens. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Weiss attended Roosevelt High School. She eventually studied biology at Brandeis University and graduated in 1971 with her B.A. She moved to Harvard University for her doctoral research, where she studied Virulent Newcastle disease. [3] Weiss started studying coronaviruses during her postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco. [4] At the time, very little was known about the impact of coronaviruses, other than that they can cause the common cold in humans. [5]

Research and career

Weiss' coronavirus research has encompassed the emerging pathogens severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Human coronavirus OC43, Human coronavirus 229E and the coronavirus disease. [6] [7] These coronaviruses have all evolved to shut down immune responses but have different accessory proteins. [8] Coronaviruses are complex viruses that circulate in animals and occasionally infect humans. [9] They have the largest RNA genome of any viruses, which indicates that they have a wide array of proteins that can attack host cells. [9] Whilst MERS has a viral reservoir in camels and may be transmitted to humans via camel handlers, SARS does not have such a specific reservoir. [5] Coronaviruses that occur in humans are primarily viruses of the respiratory tract. [10]

Weiss began to work on coronaviruses in the 1980s, when the field was relatively new. She makes use of the murine coronavirus (known as mouse hepatitis virus or MHV) to develop mouse models that allow the study of various pathologies, including viral encephalitis and demyelinating disease. [11] [10] [12] She uses a reverse genetic system to better manipulate the viral genome. Reverse genetics helps to understand the function of a gene through the analysis of phenotypic effects of nucleic acid sequences. She looks to understand what determines coronavirus viral and cellular tropism, as well as better understanding the pathogenesis of coronavirus in the brain. [10] This has involved studies of the interferon antagonists that are encoded by the coronavirus, specifically phosphodiesterase, which antagonizes OAS-RNase L (Ribonuclease L) immune pathway. [10] Weiss has considered the mechanisms by which the phosphodiesterase antagonizes Ribonuclease L. She has studied the role of inflammasome-related cytokines in mouse hepatitis virus-induced disease. [10] Despite murine coronavirus being a useful model of coronaviruses, it is still unclear how mouse hepatitis virus is spread. [10] There is only one receptor for the mouse hepatitis virus – the carcinoembryonic antigen – but highly virulent strains of the virus can spread even when this receptor is not present. [10]

In 2020, Weiss was made Co-Director of the University of Pennsylvania Center of Research for Coronaviruses and Other Emerging Pathogens. [5] [13] The Center looks to accelerate research that focuses on SARS-CoV-2, become a centralized repository of SARS-CoV-2 research and create new opportunities to fund research relating to SARS-CoV-2. [14] [15] SARS-CoV-2 is different to SARS; as there are many people who have mild or asymptomatic coronavirus disease without being aware that they have it. [16] [17] Whereas in the case of SARS, patients were too unwell to leave their homes, so they tended to self-isolate, and the virus was most transmissible from severely ill patients rather than asymptomatic ones. [18] [5] In March 2020, Weiss was awarded certification from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to work with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a BSL 3 laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania. [6] As well as investigating potential antivirals, the Weiss laboratory are studying the evolution of SARS-CoV-2. [6] Work during the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic includes identification of SARS-CoV-2 in domestic cats, [19] the innate immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, [20] and critical reviews of scientific evidence for the origin of SARS-CoV-2. [21]

Weiss' work and expertise has been featured in the science podcast This Week in Virology in both 2020 [22] and 2021. [23] As of 2024, she is a fellow and a current governor of the American Academy of Microbiology, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 2023 was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. [24]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronavirus</span> Subfamily of viruses in the family Coronaviridae

Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the common cold, while more lethal varieties can cause SARS, MERS and COVID-19. In cows and pigs they cause diarrhea, while in mice they cause hepatitis and encephalomyelitis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SARS-related coronavirus</span> Species of coronavirus causing SARS and COVID-19

Betacoronavirus pandemicum is a species of virus consisting of many known strains. Two strains of the virus have caused outbreaks of severe respiratory diseases in humans: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1, the cause of the 2002–2004 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of the pandemic of COVID-19. There are hundreds of other strains of SARSr-CoV, which are only known to infect non-human mammal species: bats are a major reservoir of many strains of SARSr-CoV; several strains have been identified in Himalayan palm civets, which were likely ancestors of SARS-CoV-1.

<i>Coronaviridae</i> Family of viruses in the order Nidovirales

Coronaviridae is a family of enveloped, positive-strand RNA viruses which infect amphibians, birds, and mammals. Commonly referred to as coronaviruses in the English language, the family coronaviridae includes the subfamilies Letovirinae and Orthocoronavirinae; the latter also known as coronavirinae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SARS-CoV-1</span> Virus that causes SARS

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1), previously known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), is a strain of coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the respiratory illness responsible for the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak. It is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus that infects the epithelial cells within the lungs. The virus enters the host cell by binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. It infects humans, bats, and palm civets. The SARS-CoV-1 outbreak was largely brought under control by simple public health measures. Testing people with symptoms, isolating and quarantining suspected cases, and restricting travel all had an effect. SARS-CoV-1 was most transmissible when patients were sick, so its spread could be effectively suppressed by isolating patients with symptoms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human coronavirus NL63</span> Species of virus

Alphacoronavirus amsterdamense is a species of coronavirus, specifically a Setracovirus from among the Alphacoronavirus genus. It was identified in late 2004 in patients in the Netherlands by Lia van der Hoek and Krzysztof Pyrc using a novel virus discovery method VIDISCA. Later on the discovery was confirmed by the researchers from Rotterdam. The virus is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus which enters its host cell by binding to ACE2. Infection with the virus has been confirmed worldwide, and has an association with many common symptoms and diseases. Associated diseases include mild to moderate upper respiratory tract infections, severe lower respiratory tract infection, croup and bronchiolitis.

An emergent virus is a virus that is either newly appeared, notably increasing in incidence/geographic range or has the potential to increase in the near future. Emergent viruses are a leading cause of emerging infectious diseases and raise public health challenges globally, given their potential to cause outbreaks of disease which can lead to epidemics and pandemics. As well as causing disease, emergent viruses can also have severe economic implications. Recent examples include the SARS-related coronaviruses, which have caused the 2002–2004 outbreak of SARS (SARS-CoV-1) and the 2019–2023 pandemic of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). Other examples include the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes HIV/AIDS; the viruses responsible for Ebola; the H5N1 influenza virus responsible for avian influenza; and H1N1/09, which caused the 2009 swine flu pandemic. Viral emergence in humans is often a consequence of zoonosis, which involves a cross-species jump of a viral disease into humans from other animals. As zoonotic viruses exist in animal reservoirs, they are much more difficult to eradicate and can therefore establish persistent infections in human populations.

<i>Murine coronavirus</i> Species of virus

Murine coronavirus (M-CoV) is a virus in the genus Betacoronavirus that infects mice. Belonging to the subgenus Embecovirus, murine coronavirus strains are enterotropic or polytropic. Enterotropic strains include mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) strains D, Y, RI, and DVIM, whereas polytropic strains, such as JHM and A59, primarily cause hepatitis, enteritis, and encephalitis. Murine coronavirus is an important pathogen in the laboratory mouse and the laboratory rat. It is the most studied coronavirus in animals other than humans, and has been used as an animal disease model for many virological and clinical studies.

Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a provisional name given to coronaviruses of medical significance before a permanent name is decided upon. Although coronaviruses are endemic in humans and infections normally mild, such as the common cold, cross-species transmission has produced some unusually virulent strains which can cause viral pneumonia and in serious cases even acute respiratory distress syndrome and death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human coronavirus HKU1</span> Species of virus

Betacoronavirus hongkonense is a species of coronavirus in humans and animals. It causes an upper respiratory disease with symptoms of the common cold, but can advance to pneumonia and bronchiolitis. It was first discovered in January 2004 from one man in Hong Kong. Subsequent research revealed it has global distribution and earlier genesis.

<i>Betacoronavirus</i> Genus of viruses

Betacoronavirus is one of four genera of coronaviruses. Member viruses are enveloped, positive-strand RNA viruses that infect mammals, including humans. The natural reservoir for betacoronaviruses are bats and rodents. Rodents are the reservoir for the subgenus Embecovirus, while bats are the reservoir for the other subgenera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human coronavirus 229E</span> Species of virus

Alphacoronavirus chicagoense is a species of coronavirus which infects humans and bats. It is an enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus which enters its host cell by binding to the APN receptor. Along with Human coronavirus OC43, it is one of the viruses responsible for the common cold. HCoV-229E is a member of the genus Alphacoronavirus and subgenus Duvinacovirus.

Bat SARS-like coronavirus WIV1, also sometimes called SARS-like coronavirus WIV1, is a strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus (SARSr-CoV) isolated from Chinese rufous horseshoe bats in 2013. Like all coronaviruses, virions consist of single-stranded positive-sense RNA enclosed within an envelope.

Susan C. Baker is an American molecular virologist and professor at Loyola University Chicago, Illinois. She teaches microbiology and immunology within the Loyola Medicine Health System. She received her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University. Currently, she has 80 publications, dating back to 1987, within each of the following disciplines: microbiology, infectious disease, and infectious disease control to name a few. A list of her publications can be found here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronavirus diseases</span> List of Coronavirus diseases

Coronavirus diseases are caused by viruses in the coronavirus subfamily, a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, the group of viruses cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the common cold, while more lethal varieties can cause SARS, MERS and COVID-19. As of 2021, 45 species are registered as coronaviruses, whilst 11 diseases have been identified, as listed below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wuhan Institute of Virology</span> Research Institute in Wuhan, Hubei, China

The Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences is a research institute on virology administered by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), which reports to the State Council of the People's Republic of China. The institute is one of nine independent organisations in the Wuhan Branch of the CAS. Located in Jiangxia District, Wuhan, Hubei, it was founded in 1956 and opened mainland China's first biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory in 2018. The institute has collaborated with the Galveston National Laboratory in the United States, the Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie in France, and the National Microbiology Laboratory in Canada. The institute has been an active premier research center for the study of coronaviruses.

Karen Louise Mossman is a Canadian virologist who is a professor of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University. Mossman looks to understand how viruses get around the defence mechanisms of cells. She was part of a team of Canadian researchers who first isolated SARS-CoV-2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of coronavirus</span> History of the virus group

The history of coronaviruses is an account of the discovery of the diseases caused by coronaviruses and the diseases they cause. It starts with the first report of a new type of upper-respiratory tract disease among chickens in North Dakota, U.S., in 1931. The causative agent was identified as a virus in 1933. By 1936, the disease and the virus were recognised as unique from other viral disease. They became known as infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), but later officially renamed as Avian coronavirus.

Ralph Steven Baric is William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, and professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronavirus envelope protein</span> Major structure in coronaviruses

The envelope (E) protein is the smallest and least well-characterized of the four major structural proteins found in coronavirus virions. It is an integral membrane protein less than 110 amino acid residues long; in SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of Covid-19, the E protein is 75 residues long. Although it is not necessarily essential for viral replication, absence of the E protein may produce abnormally assembled viral capsids or reduced replication. E is a multifunctional protein and, in addition to its role as a structural protein in the viral capsid, it is thought to be involved in viral assembly, likely functions as a viroporin, and is involved in viral pathogenesis.

ORF6 is a gene that encodes a viral accessory protein in coronaviruses of the subgenus Sarbecovirus, including SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. It is not present in MERS-CoV. It is thought to reduce the immune system response to viral infection through interferon antagonism.

References

  1. ↑ "Susan R. Weiss | Department of Microbiology | Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania". www.med.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  2. ↑ "Penn Center for Research on Coronavirus and Other Emerging Pathogens". www.pennmedicine.org. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  3. ↑ Weiss, Susan R (1976). Analysis of Newcastle disease virus messenger RNA and poly (A) (Thesis). OCLC   77001271.
  4. ↑ "Penn microbiologist explains why some coronaviruses are more deadly than others". PhillyVoice. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Salata, Cristiano; Calistri, Arianna; Parolin, Cristina; Palù, Giorgio (2019-12-01). "Coronaviruses: a paradigm of new emerging zoonotic diseases". Pathogens and Disease. 77 (9). doi: 10.1093/femspd/ftaa006 . ISSN   2049-632X. PMC   7108526 . PMID   32065221.
  6. 1 2 3 "As many labs go quiet, research to find a coronavirus therapy ramps up". Penn Today. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  7. ↑ "The Biology of Coronaviruses: From the Lab to the Spotlight – PR News". www.pennmedicine.org. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  8. ↑ Makin, Simon. "How Coronaviruses Cause Infection—from Colds to Deadly Pneumonia". Scientific American. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  9. 1 2 "Q & A on COVID-19". European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Susan R. Weiss | Faculty | About Us | Perelman School of Medicine | Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania". www.med.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  11. ↑ "Pandemic Perspectives Interview with Susan Weiss". Distillations. Science History Institute. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  12. ↑ Cowley, Timothy J.; Weiss, Susan R. (2010-11-01). "Murine coronavirus neuropathogenesis: determinants of virulence". Journal of NeuroVirology. 16 (6): 427–434. doi:10.1007/BF03210848. ISSN   1538-2443. PMC   3153983 . PMID   21073281.
  13. ↑ "The biology of coronaviruses: From the lab to the spotlight". Penn Today. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  14. ↑ Kagan, Dima; Moran-Gilad, Jacob; Fire, Michael (2020-03-20). "Scientometric Trends for Coronaviruses and Other Emerging Viral Infections". GigaScience. 9 (8). bioRxiv   10.1101/2020.03.17.995795 . doi: 10.1093/gigascience/giaa085 . PMC   7429184 . PMID   32803225. S2CID   214725370.
  15. ↑ "Penn establishes center to accelerate coronavirus research". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  16. ↑ Yong, Ed (2020-03-20). "Why the Coronavirus Has Been So Successful". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  17. ↑ "What we've learned about the coronavirus — and what we need to know". STAT. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  18. ↑ "WHO Consensus Document on the Epidemiology of SARS". World Health Organization/IRIS. 2003. hdl:10665/70863 . Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  19. ↑ Lenz, Olivia C.; Marques, Andrew D.; Kelly, Brendan J.; Rodino, Kyle G.; Cole, Stephen D.; Perera, Ranawaka A. P. M.; Weiss, Susan R.; Bushman, Frederic D.; Lennon, Elizabeth M. (2022-02-17). "SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant (AY.3) in the Feces of a Domestic Cat". Viruses. 14 (2): 421. doi: 10.3390/v14020421 . ISSN   1999-4915. PMC   8877841 . PMID   35216014.
  20. ↑ Li, Yize; Renner, David M.; Comar, Courtney E.; Whelan, Jillian N.; Reyes, Hanako M.; Cardenas-Diaz, Fabian Leonardo; Truitt, Rachel; Tan, Li Hui; Dong, Beihua; Alysandratos, Konstantinos Dionysios; Huang, Jessie (2021-04-20). "SARS-CoV-2 induces double-stranded RNA-mediated innate immune responses in respiratory epithelial-derived cells and cardiomyocytes". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118 (16): e2022643118. Bibcode:2021PNAS..11822643L. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2022643118 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   8072330 . PMID   33811184.
  21. ↑ Holmes, Edward C.; Goldstein, Stephen A.; Rasmussen, Angela L.; Robertson, David L.; Crits-Christoph, Alexander; Wertheim, Joel O.; Anthony, Simon J.; Barclay, Wendy S.; Boni, Maciej F.; Doherty, Peter C.; Farrar, Jeremy (2021-09-16). "The origins of SARS-CoV-2: A critical review". Cell. 184 (19): 4848–4856. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2021.08.017. PMC   8373617 . PMID   34480864.
  22. ↑ "A Coronavirus Chronology with Susan Weiss". ASM.org. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  23. ↑ "TWiV 734: Weiss hath no furin like a virus scorned". 2021-03-21. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  24. ↑ "Perelman's Weiss To Deliver Khoury Lecture, May 29". NIH Record (in Spanish). May 24, 2024. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
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