Zlotnick Lab: Indiana University

The Zlotnick lab dissects virus assembly using a broad array of biophysical and biochemical tools. We perturb “normal” assembly with mutants and small molecules. Results of perturbations are observed in vitro and in cells. Changes in structure are correlated with changes in assembly.

Assembly-directed small molecules can be antivirals. Our small molecules speed up assembly by orders of magnitude. How can this be antiviral? Imagine an assembly line, producing cars or viruses. It moves at a relatively slow rate and different pieces are added one at a time. If we accelerate the assembly line a little bit, say twofold, we get more cars but also more mistakes. If we accelerate the assembly line 100-fold, say from ¼ mile and hour to 25 miles an hour, we’ll be lucky to get a steering wheel.

Recent News

IU researchers investigate key protein in COVID-19 virus that could lead to effective new treatments

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

A research team at the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington is uncovering important details about how the COVID-19 virus behaves inside infected cells, and their findings could help guide the development of future treatments. A recent study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry by Ph.D. student Patrick Laughlin, with Distinguished Professor of Molecular and […]

Congratulations to Adam Zlotnick for being named Distinguished Professor!

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

We have our own celebrity . . . 3 faculty named Distinguished Professors – Indiana University has named three faculty members as Distinguished Professors, the most prestigious appointment offered to honor faculty whose outstanding scholarship, artistic or literary distinction or other achievements have won significant recognition by peers. Read the article here: https://today.iu.edu/live/news/4487-3-faculty-named-distinguished-professors

Nora Gibes receives Peglow Award for International HBV Meeting

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Congratulations to Nora Gibes! She is the recipient of a Peglow Award for travel to the 2022 International HBV Meeting in Paris, France from September 18-22, 2022.

These overlays show comparisons of Hepatitis B Virus capsids with bound drugs (purple) to a normal capsid without drug (green). Though the drugs, HAP1, HAP18, and AT130, each bind to different sites, their effects on capsid structure are distinctly different.