Timothy Mehrmann is a postbac in the Medical Virology Section of the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases at the Vaccine Research Center, where he works under the supervision of Jeffrey Cohen, M.D. Read this interview about Timothy’s experience at NIAID and how it has prepared him to pursue a career in both infectious disease medicine and virology research.
What inspired you to conduct postbac research at NIAID?
Prior to coming to NIH, I was an undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology. Although biochemistry was my primary focus, I also pursued microbiology, seeking a context to explore biochemistry that was relevant to human health. These interests inspired me to join the Muller Lab, a group at UMass Amherst that studies the various strategies Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) utilizes to control gene expression during viral infection. My work with the Muller Lab focused on Shiftless, a cellular protein that inhibits a variety of different viruses. This experience, combined with my clinical experiences during the pandemic, cemented virology as a mainstay of my future career. After graduating from UMass Amherst, I sought to merge my clinical and research experiences, studying virology in a truly translational setting. NIH, and NIAID in particular, offered me the ideal environment to pursue this goal.
Tell me about your research and how it contributes to the NIAID mission.
With the Cohen Lab, I study different vaccination strategies against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). EBV is the major cause of infectious mononucleosis and is a potent oncogenic virus and is responsible for over 200,000 new cases of cancer globally each year. One of these cancers, nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is especially common in individuals from Southeast Asia. NPC displays a variety of EBV epitopes with MHC Class-1 molecules. Utilizing various delivery methods, our group hopes to create therapeutic T-cell vaccine candidates that target these epitopes, training the immune system to specifically and potently target NPC cells. In addition to therapeutic vaccine candidates, I am also working with Wei Bu, Ph.D., my staff scientist mentor, to design prophylactic EBV vaccine candidates to prevent EBV infection and EBV disease from starting. This work is heavily inspired by structural biology approaches, utilizing techniques like cryo-EM to optimize the design of vaccine immunogens that elicit neutralizing responses against EBV infection. Taken together, my work aims to broaden our therapeutic and prophylactic repertoire against EBV infection and EBV-associated malignancies.
What have you enjoyed most about being a postbac?
This question is very easy—I have absolutely loved the people I work with! Since coming to NIH, I have met a diverse, exciting community of individuals who share the same interests as I do. From the clinical side of virology to novel research concepts, it has been such a pleasure immersing myself in so many novel approaches to the work I enjoy. The community I am a part of has been nothing but completely supportive of my passions, and I especially appreciate the support I have received going through the M.D./Ph.D. cycle.
What NIH/NIAID resources have been most helpful or useful during your training experience thus far?
NIAID does a fantastic job of supporting their postbacs. I have especially benefited from the advising services offered by the Office of Research Training and Development. Regardless of whether the stress is professional or personal, the advising team has been there to help keep me on the path towards success in the medical profession. I have also benefitted from a number of workshops hosted by the Office of Intramural Training and Education, all of which have helped me navigate the medical school application process in a healthy and effective manner. Perhaps most impactfully, I feel that I have especially benefited from the broader environment at NIH. All the members of my lab have been incredibly supportive, happily taking time out of their busy schedules to discuss my work and my future. I am especially grateful for Drs. Wei Bu and Al Vostal, both of whom have been fantastic mentors for me throughout my time at NIAID.
What are your future career plans, and how has your postbac prepared you?
In my future career, I hope to both practice infectious disease medicine and lead a laboratory group studying virology. I hope to take an integrative, multidisciplinary approach to virology and therapeutic design, drawing on diverse fields ranging from structural biology to immunology, to address public health needs related to virology. Training at NIAID has been an absolutely fantastic way for me to prepare for this goal. As a postbac, I have been given the freedom and responsibility to design work similar to what I aspire to do, but with the mentoring necessary to guarantee that I develop the skills I will need in my future career.
Learn more about postbaccalaureate training opportunities at NIAID.