Chia-Ming Su

I am currently a Postdoctoral Associate working in Dr. Saeed’s lab at the Boston University School of Medicine and the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) of Boston University. Previously, I obtained my M.Sc. in Pathobiology from National Taiwan University. After that, I left the city of the ocean (any city in Taiwan) and moved to the middle of the cornfield ocean, Illinois, to pursue my Ph. D. in Pathobiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

My Ph. D. project at UIUC focused on the innate immunomodulatory strategies and pathogenic basis for Nidoviruses, such as Coronavirus and Arterivirus. My research uncovered the molecular mechanisms of viral evasion and innate immune suppression, as well as novel strategies for developing better and safer vaccines against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection. At the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, I screened potential viral proteins that regulated the innate immune response and showed that the ORF7a protein of SARS-CoV-2 is one of the potent proteins in NF-κB activation and proinflammatory cytokines hyperinduction. Then, I identified the molecular mechanism of arterivirus nsp1β downregulates the interferon stimulation gene, PML protein, through ubiquitin-proteasome degradation. I presented a novel strategy for arteriviruses mediating PML antiviral activity to promote their viral replication. Specifically, I identified and characterized potent viral proteins that regulate the innate immune response and designed a vaccine candidate based on the molecular characteristics of the virus using reverse genetics with infectious clones. I also examined the immune outcomes of mutant virus infection in vitro and in vivo and generated a double-deletion mutant PRRS virus that showed an enhanced immune response and reduced clinical severity during coinfection with bacterial pathogens in fields.

I joined Dr. Saeed’s lab in NEIDL in September 2023. Currently, I am investigating how interactions between viruses and hosts shape the host’s innate immune response. Specifically, I am focusing on Coronaviruses and Enteroviruses and using advanced proteomics techniques to identify host proteins that interact with viral proteins during infections. Through the use of molecular biology and systems biology approaches, I aim to understand the functions of these host targets in antiviral defenses and virus replication. In addition to viral infections, I also study the human innate immune response, with a focus on uncovering the molecular mechanisms underlying its function.