Autumn Grimins

I am originally from Elmira, NY, and earned my associate’s degree in Math and Sciences from Corning Community College in 2018. I then transferred to the Rochester Institute of Technology, where I completed my bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences in 2020.

During my undergraduate studies, I discovered a strong interest in research and decided to pursue it as a career. To gain additional laboratory experience before applying to graduate school, I applied to post-baccalaureate programs and was accepted into Boston University’s Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (BU-PREP) in the summer of 2020. I moved to Boston and joined the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL), where I worked in Dr. John Connor’s lab. There, I gained experience in virology and contributed to research aimed at elucidating the mechanism of action of a potential antiviral candidate.

In 2021, I was accepted into the BU Program in Biomedical Sciences (PiBS) and began my thesis work in Dr. Shawn Lyons’ lab.

My research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of translation in negative-sense RNA viruses (NSVs). These viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that rely on the host cell’s translation machinery to synthesize their proteins. While many viruses exploit host translation in well-characterized ways, the strategies used by NSVs remain poorly understood. NSVs produce mRNAs that are capped, polyadenylated, and monocistronic—features that closely resemble host transcripts. Because of this, it has long been assumed that NSV mRNAs are translated through canonical host pathways. However, emerging evidence suggests that NSVs may utilize non-canonical or alternative mechanisms to initiate translation. My work aims to investigate how NSV mRNAs are selectively translated during infection, using a multidisciplinary approach that includes biochemical, molecular, virological, and imaging techniques.