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DBSP Research Faculty

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Yaowei Huang, PhD

Research Assistant Professor
Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathobiology

e-mail: yhuang@vt.edu


Education

1998-2003 Ph.D., Applied Biotechnology
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Zhejiang University
Hangzhou, China
1994-1998 B.S., Biology
Department of Biology
Nanjing University
Nanjing, China

Brief Bio

My current research mainly focuses on:

  • Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) replication and pathogenesis. Research on understanding of the HEV replication, pathogenesis and cross-species infection by using pigs, chickens and non-human primates as model systems, and by using avian-swine, avian-human and swine-human HEV chimeras and intergenotypic chimeras to identify genomic regions that are functionally important for these processes.
  • Molecular mechanism of interactions between porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and the host cells, porcine dendritic cells and alveolar macrophages.
  • Molecular mechanism of PRRSV, porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) and Torgue teno virus (TTV) co-infection in pig.
  • Identification of two novel porcine pattern-recognition receptors, DC-SIGN and LSECtin, and characterization of their roles in pig innate immunity.


Research Project Involvement

Project 1: Mechanism of hepatitis E virus replication and pathogenesis (as a co-Investigator).
Funding Agency and Grant number: National Institutes of Health (NIH), 1R01AI074667-01A1
Description: The lack of knowledge on HEV biology and pathogenesis has greatly hindered the development of a vaccine against HEV. This project will delineate the structural and functional relationship of HEV genes using reverse genetics and animal models, and the results will aid in the development of a live-attenuated vaccine against this important but extremely understudied human pathogen.

Project 2: A chicken model to study HEV pathogenesis (as a co-Investigator).
Funding Agency and Grant number: National Institutes of Health (NIH), 2R01AI050611-05A2
Description: The lack of a practical animal model for HEV is a major obstacle for understanding the mechanism of HEV pathogenesis. This project will utilize a novel chicken model system to understand the pathogenesis of HEV, and the data from this project will help devise preventive and control strategies against HEV.


Professional Experience

2011-present Research Assistant Professor
Center for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases
VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI&SU), Blacksburg, VA
2008-2011 Research Scientist
Center for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases
VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI&SU), Blacksburg, VA
2003-2007 Postdoctoral Associate in Laboratory of Molecular Virology
Center for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases
VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI&SU), Blacksburg, VA
1998-2003 Graduate Research Assistant
Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Department of Biomedical Engineering
Zhejiang University
Hangzhou, China

Professional Memberships

  • American Society for Virology

Awards and Honors

  • ASV postdoctoral travel awards, American Society for Virology 24th annual meeting, University Park, PA, USA, 2005
  • First-Class Award of Science and Technology Progress of Zhejiang Province (as a key member of the research team); Subject: DNA vaccine against infectious bursal disease virus. Hangzhou, China, 2002
  • Second-Class Award of Science and Technology Progress of Zhejiang Province (as a member of the research team); Subject: Development of a novel subunit vaccine against infectious bursal disease virus using silkworm as the bioreactor. Hangzhou, China, 2001
  • Zhong-Xing Communication Outstanding Scholarship, Hangzhou, China, 2001
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences Scholarship, Hangzhou, China, 2000
  • First-Class Outstanding Graduate Scholarship, Hangzhou, China, 1999&2000

Selected Publications

  1. Huang YW, Dryman B, Li W, Meng XJ. Porcine DC-SIGN: Molecular cloning, gene structure, tissue distribution and binding characteristics. Developmental and Comparative Immunology, 2008, in press. Available online, doi: 10.1016/j.dci.2998.09.010.
  2. RS Pudupakam, YW Huang, T Opriessnig, PG Halbur, FW Pierson, XJ Meng. Deletions of the hypervariable region (HVR) in the open reading frame 1 of hepatitis E virus (HEV) do not abolish virus infectivity: Evidence for attenuation of the HVR-deletion mutants in vivo. Journal of Virology, 2008, in press. Available online, doi: 10.1128/JVI.01854-08.
  3. AR Feagins, T Opriessnig, YW Huang, PG Halbur, XJ Meng. Cross-species infection of specific-pathogen-free pigs 1 by a genotype 4 strain of human hepatitis E virus. Journal of Medical Virology, 2008, 80(8):1379–1386.
  4. N Pal, YW Huang, DM Madson, C Kuster, XJ Meng, PG Halbur, T Opriessnig. Development and validation of a duplex real-time PCR assay for the simultaneous detection and quantification of porcine circovirus type 2 and an internal control on porcine semen samples. Journal of Virological Methods, 2008, 149(2):217-225.
  5. Matanin BM, Huang Y, Meng XJ, Zhang C. Purification of the major envelop protein GP5 of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) from native virions. Journal of Virological Methods , 2008, 147(1):127-135.
  6. Huang YW, Opriessnig T, Halbur PG, Meng XJ. Initiation at the third in-frame AUG codon of open reading frame 3 of the hepatitis E virus is essential for viral infectivity in vivo. Journal of Virology, 2007, 81(6):3018-3026.
  7. Li L, Fang W, Li J, Huang Y, Yu L. Oral DNA vaccination with the polyprotein gene of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) delivered by the attenuated Salmonella elicits protective immune responses in chickens. Vaccine. 2006, 24(33-34):5919-5927.
  8. Li L, Wei Y, Huang Y, Yu L. Generation of VP5 deficient mutant of infectious bursal disease virus strain HZ2. Chinese Science Bulletin. 2006, 51(15):1909-1912
  9. Huang YW, Haqshenas G, Kasorndorkbua C, Halbur PG, Emerson SU, Meng XJ. Capped RNA transcripts of full-length cDNA clones of swine hepatitis E virus are replication competent when transfected into Huh7 cells and infectious when intrahepatically inoculated into pigs. Journal of Virology, 2005,79(3):1552-1558
  10. Li L, Huang YW, Wang LS, Wan WJ, Yu L. Synthesis of reassortant infectious bursal disease virus in chickens injected directly with infectious clones from different virus strains. Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica, 2005, 37(3):192-198.
  11. Huang YW, Li L, Yu L. The reverse genetics systems for human and animal RNA viruses. Chinese Journal of Biotechnology, 2004, 20(3):311-318
  12. Li J, Liang X, Huang Y, Meng S, Xie R, Deng R, Yu L. Enhancement of the immunogenicity of DNA vaccine against infectious bursal disease virus by co-delivery with plasmid encoding chicken interleukin 2. Virology, 2004, 329(1):89-100.
  13. Li J, Huang Y, Liang X, Lu M, Li L, Yu L, Deng R. Plasmid DNA encoding antigens of infectious bursal disease viruses induce protective immune responses in chickens: factors influencing efficacy. Virus Research, 2003, 98(1):63-74.
  14. Huang YW, Li L, Li JR, Yu L. Rapid construction of infectious clones of infectious bursal disease virus. Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica, 2003, 35(4):338-344.
  15. Huang YW, Yu L, Ding HM, Li JR, Song KH. Amplification and cloning by long RT-PCR of full-length genome of larger segment of chicken infectious bursal disease viruse. Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica, 2001(3), 33:355-359
  16. Yu L, Li JR, Huang YW, Dikki J, Deng R. Molecular characteristics of full-length of genomic segment A of three infectious bursal disease viruses in China: two attenuated strains and a field virulent strain. Avian Diseases, 2001, 45(4):862-874
  17. Li JR, Huang YW, Meng SS, Liang XY, Xie RH, Yu L. Cloning and phylogenetic analysis of interleukin-2 gene in Xiaoshan chicken, a Chinese local chicken breed. Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica, 2001, 33(6):713-718
  18. Yu L, Huang YW, Li JR, Song KH, Ye WC. Genomic structure and proteins sequence analysis of full-length of segment A of three infectious bursal disease viruses. Acta Microbiologica Sinica, 2001, 41(5):573-581
  19. Song KH, Jin YF, Huang YW, Zhang YZ, Yu L. Infectious bursal disease virus structural protein VP2 expressed by a baculovirus recombinant in Bombyx mori. Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica, 2000, 32(3):281-284.