Andrew B. Ward

Research Statement

AI generated · 20h ago

Andrew B. Ward's structural biology program centers on viral envelope glycoproteins and membrane transporters, using cryo-electron microscopy to resolve conformations that antibodies and drugs must recognize. His most-cited senior-author work includes the pre-fusion structure of a human coronavirus spike protein and, with Daniel Wrapp, stabilized coronavirus spikes resistant to receptor-induced conformational change, alongside structures of the fully glycosylated, cleaved HIV-1 envelope trimer that defined how broadly neutralizing antibodies engage the native spike. Earlier first-author studies of alternating access in the ABC transporter MsbA and of P-glycoprotein's conformational flexibility and nucleotide-binding epitope established his parallel interest in ATP-binding cassette transporters. Beyond these, Ward contributed to the molecular basis for poly-specific drug binding by P-glycoprotein and to work showing that SARS-CoV-2 infection depends on cellular heparan sulfate and ACE2. His senior-author analyses of asymmetric HIV-1 trimer recognition by the antibody PG9 and of a quaternary, cleavage-dependent gp41-gp120 epitope trace a consistent line of inquiry: mapping how conformational flexibility and glycan shielding shape immune recognition across coronaviruses, HIV, and mechanosensitive channels such as Piezo1.

Most Cited Works

SARS-CoV-2 Infection Depends on Cellular Heparan Sulfate and ACE2

Thomas Mandel Clausen, Daniel R Sandoval, Charlotte B Spliid, Jessica Pihl, Hailee R Perrett, Chelsea D Painter, Anoop Narayanan, Sydney A Majowicz, Elizabeth M Kwong, Rachael N McVicar, Bryan E Thacker, Charles A Glass, Zhang Yang, Jonathan L Torres, Gregory J Golden, Phillip L Bartels, Ryan N Porell, Aaron F Garretson, Logan Laubach, Jared Feldman, Xin Yin, Yuan Pu, Blake M Hauser, Timothy M Caradonna, Benjamin P Kellman, Cameron Martino, Philip L S M Gordts, Sumit K Chanda, Aaron G Schmidt, Kamil Godula, Sandra L Leibel, Joyce Jose, Kevin D Corbett

Research Areas

SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchHIV Research and TreatmentMonoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Resvaccines and immunoinformatics approacheCarbohydrate Chemistry and Synthesis

Loading ORCID activity...

Sources

Research Statement

Most Cited Works

SARS-CoV-2 Infection Depends on Cellular Heparan Sulfate and ACE2

Research Areas

Structure of the SARS-CoV nsp12 polymerase bound to nsp7 and nsp8 co-factors

Discoveries in structure and physiology of mechanically activated ion channels

OSCA/TMEM63 are an evolutionarily conserved family of mechanically activated ion channels

Vulnerabilities in coronavirus glycan shields despite extensive glycosylation