Summer Lab Work Turns Into Published Virus Study

The Hormel Institute at the University of Minnesota runs a summer program that sends undergraduates into research labs. Students get hands-on work and training for future careers in biomedical science. One intern, Noah Zimmerman, started a project that ended up in a peer-reviewed journal.

A Unique Research Opportunity

Zimmerman joined the lab of Associate Professor Vijay Reddy during his internship. The team maintains a large online collection called viperdb.org that stores 3-dimensional pictures of many spherical viruses. They study the strength of each virus’s outer shell and other surface traits using computer analysis, so they never need to grow the viruses in a laboratory.

The Project

His work began by looking at how much of each virus’s surface is hidden inside the shell. Zimmerman compared this data across more than 630 different viruses, grouping them by family and shape. The analysis revealed which viruses have the toughest shells and how they might survive on surfaces for long periods.

Impactful Results

The results help scientists design safer ways to keep viruses contained. They also guide the selection of strong viral shells for use as tiny containers, or nano-capsules, in vaccine development and other biotechnological applications.

From Internship to Publication

After the internship ended, Professor Reddy asked Zimmerman to stay an extra month to draft the paper. While Zimmerman finished his senior year, the lab refined the manuscript until it was ready for submission.

The study was accepted and published in Protein Science. The authors include Zimmerman, fellow researcher Oscar Rojas Labra, and Professor Reddy.