Rachel Fearns, PhD
Chair and Ernest Barsamian, MD Professor, Virology, Immunology & Microbiology
Biography
My group’s research focuses on the transcription-replication machinery of non-segmented negative strand RNA viruses. My work spans several viruses in different viral families, including Marburg virus, Nipah virus, respiratory syncytial virus, and parainfluenza virus. Although these viruses cause very different diseases, they all share common mechanisms to transcribe and replicate their RNA genomes. My group specializes in using biochemical and molecular biology approaches to probe functional properties of the transcription-replication machinery. We collaborate with structural biologists to understand how the structure of viral polymerases relates to their multi-functional properties, with industry partners to determine the mechanism of action of small molecule polymerase inhibitors with therapeutic potential, and with experts in microscopy to study how the transcription-replication machinery is organized and regulated in infected cells.
Other Positions
- Faculty, National Emerging Infectious Disease Lab, Boston University
- Member, Pulmonary Center, Boston University
- Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research, Boston University
- Member, Genome Science Institute, Boston University
- Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students), Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences
Education
- University of St Andrews, PhD
- University of Leeds, BS
Classes Taught
- MI701
- MI823
Publications
- Published on 1/20/2025
Hu S, Kim H, Yang P, Yu Z, Ludeke B, Mobilia S, Pan J, Stratton M, Bian Y, Fearns R, Abraham J. Structural and functional analysis of the Nipah virus polymerase complex. Cell. 2025 Feb 06; 188(3):688-703.e18. PMID: 39837328.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 1/15/2025
Zhao C, Taliento AE, Belkin EM, Fearns R, Lerou PH, Ai X, Bai Y. Infant RSV infection desensitizes ß2-adrenergic receptor via CXCL11-CXCR7 signaling in airway smooth muscle. bioRxiv. 2025 Jan 15. PMID: 39868223.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 11/1/2024
Zhao C, Bai Y, Wang W, Amonkar GM, Mou H, Olejnik J, Hume AJ, Mühlberger E, Lukacs NW, Fearns R, Lerou PH, Ai X. Activation of STAT3-mediated ciliated cell survival protects against severe infection by respiratory syncytial virus. J Clin Invest. 2024 Nov 01; 134(21). PMID: 39484716.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 7/30/2024
Kleiner VA, Fearns R. How does the polymerase of non-segmented negative strand RNA viruses commit to transcription or genome replication? J Virol. 2024 Aug 20; 98(8):e0033224. PMID: 39078194.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 5/19/2024
Bonneux B, Shareef A, Tcherniuk S, Anson B, de Bruyn S, Verheyen N, Thys K, Conceição-Neto N, Van Ginderen M, Kwanten L, Ysebaert N, Vranckx L, Peeters E, Lanckacker E, Gallup JM, Sitthicharoenchai P, Alnajjar S, Ackermann MR, Adhikary S, Bhaumik A, Patrick A, Fung A, Sutto-Ortiz P, Decroly E, Mason SW, Lançois D, Deval J, Jin Z, Eléouët JF, Fearns R, Koul A, Roymans D, Rigaux P, Herschke F. JNJ-7184, a respiratory syncytial virus inhibitor targeting the connector domain of the viral polymerase. Antiviral Res. 2024 Jul; 227:105907. PMID: 38772503.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/11/2024
Xie J, Ouizougun-Oubari M, Wang L, Zhai G, Wu D, Lin Z, Wang M, Ludeke B, Yan X, Nilsson T, Gao L, Huang X, Fearns R, Chen S. Structural basis for dimerization of a paramyxovirus polymerase complex. Nat Commun. 2024 Apr 11; 15(1):3163. PMID: 38605025.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/21/2023
Yu X, Abeywickrema P, Bonneux B, Behera I, Anson B, Jacoby E, Fung A, Adhikary S, Bhaumik A, Carbajo RJ, De Bruyn S, Miller R, Patrick A, Pham Q, Piassek M, Verheyen N, Shareef A, Sutto-Ortiz P, Ysebaert N, Van Vlijmen H, Jonckers THM, Herschke F, McLellan JS, Decroly E, Fearns R, Grosse S, Roymans D, Sharma S, Rigaux P, Jin Z. Structural and mechanistic insights into the inhibition of respiratory syncytial virus polymerase by a non-nucleoside inhibitor. Commun Biol. 2023 Oct 21; 6(1):1074. PMID: 37865687.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/21/2023
Zhao C, Wang W, Bai Y, Amonkar G, Mou H, Olejnik J, Hume AJ, Mühlberger E, Fang Y, Que J, Fearns R, Ai X, Lerou PH. Age-related STAT3 signaling regulates severity of respiratory syncytial viral infection in human bronchial epithelial cells. bioRxiv. 2023 Sep 21. PMID: 37781574.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 8/1/2023
Aihara F, Wang Y, Belkina AC, Fearns R, Mizgerd JP, Feng F, Kepler TB. Diversity of B Cell Populations and Ig Repertoire in Human Lungs. J Immunol. 2023 Aug 01; 211(3):486-496. PMID: 37314411.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/19/2023
Kleiner VA, O Fischmann T, Howe JA, Beshore DC, Eddins MJ, Hou Y, Mayhood T, Klein D, Nahas DD, Lucas BJ, Xi H, Murray E, Ma DY, Getty K, Fearns R. Conserved allosteric inhibitory site on the respiratory syncytial virus and human metapneumovirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerases. Commun Biol. 2023 Jun 19; 6(1):649. PMID: 37337079.
Read at: PubMed
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