Dolan Research Group

The Quantitative Virology and Evolution Unit focuses on understanding the dynamic and heterogenous processes of RNA virus infection and evolution. We characterize virus evolution and host-virus interactions across spatial and temporal scales using experimental tools, including high-resolution sequencing and live-cell microscopy, along with computational phylogenetic and bioinformatic tools. Projects in the lab include single-cell and single-genome sequencing of within-host virus evolution and host responses, phylogenetic reconstruction and evolutionary biochemistry in emerging RNA viruses, and design and analysis of mutational and functional genetic screens.

Patrick T. Dolan, Ph.D.

Unit Chief, Quantitative Virology and Evolution Unit
Earl Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator

Education:

Ph.D., 2014, Virology/Computational Systems Biology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

B.S., 2007, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

Patrick T. Dolan, Ph.D., is an experimental virologist and computational biologist whose work focuses primarily on the evolution and host-virus interactions of positive-sense RNA viruses. In the fall of 2021, Patrick began as unit chief of the Quantitative Virology and Evolution Unit at NIAID in Bethesda, MD, where he will continue to study the forces that shape the long- and short-term evolution of RNA virus populations.

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Patrick T. Dolan, Ph.D.

William Bakhache, Ph.D.

Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow

Education:

Ph.D., 2020, Biology, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France 
M.S., 2016, Genomics and Health, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon 
M.S., 2015, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon 
B.S., 2014, Life and Earth Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon

Languages Spoken: Arabic, French

William is a visiting postdoctoral fellow in the Quantitative Virology and Evolution Unit led by Dr. Patrick Dolan. William’s research is focused on studying the evolutionary constraints of RNA virus evolution. He has adapted deep mutational scanning methods to scan for fitness effects of mutations in viral genomes. In his primary work, William has uncovered enterovirus A’s structural plasticity...

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James Bruns, B.S.

Postbaccalaureate IRTA Fellow

Education:

B.S. Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, 2023, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Languages Spoken: German

James is a second-year Postbaccalaureate IRTA Fellow in the Quantitative Virology and Evolution Unit led by Dr. Patrick Dolan. James’ work is focused on studying the viral kinetics of poliovirus (PV1) in the context of IRES mutants and how they interact within cells. The hope is to understand the interplay between two phenotypically distinct viruses using luminescent assays and computational...

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Nathânia Dábilla, Ph.D.

Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow

Education:

Ph.D., 2021, Microbiology and Virology, Federal University of Goiás, Goiás, Brazil
M.S., 2016, Microbiology and Virology, Federal University of Goiás, Goiás, Brazil
B.S., 2013, Biomedical Sciences, College União de Goyazes, Goiás, Brazil

Languages Spoken: Portuguese

During my Master’s and Ph.D. training, I worked mainly with the molecular epidemiology of norovirus with samples collected from children and immunocompromised patients (2014-2021). During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked in a multi-center collaboration to perform the evolutionary and epidemiological track of the SARS-CoV-2 variants in Goias, Brazil. In January 2022, I began my postdoctoral...

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Jack T. Dorman, B.S.

Predoctoral Fellow (NIH-JHU)

Education:

B.S., 2022, Microbiology and Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

I investigate the evolution of flaviviruses, focusing on dengue and West Nile viruses. I combine computational approaches like ancestral reconstruction and protein modeling with experimental techniques such as deep mutational scanning and noninfectious reporter assays. I seek to identify how the structural proteins of these viruses navigated selection over the course of the recent decades and...

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Michelle Law, M.D., Ph.D.

Visiting Fellow

Education:

Ph.D., 2024, Virology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

MBBS, 2017, Medicine, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, United Kingdom

Languages Spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese

Michelle is a visiting postdoctoral fellow in the Quantitative Virology and Evolution Unit led by Dr. Patrick Dolan. Her research interests are in positive-sense RNA virus replication complexes and their role in virus evolution.

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Lauren McCormick, B.S.

Predoctoral Fellow

Education:

B.S., 2021, Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Lauren is investigating the diversity and evolution of enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) T-cell epitopes throughout the natural history of the virus to assess the role that T-cell immune escape has played in its evolutionary trajectory. By advancing our understanding of the identity, evolutionary trajectory, and evolvability of EV-A71 T-cell epitopes, Lauren hopes to provide insights that will inform the...

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Walker Symonds-Orr, B.S.

Postbaccalaureate Fellow

Education:

B.S., 2020, Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA

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Former Research Group Members

  • B. Adam Catching, Ph.D.
  • Christine Anastacia Mariskanish, B.S.
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