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Janos Luka Ph.D.

Associate Professor NEW email Address

Internet Address: jluka
 
RESEARCH INTEREST PUBLICATIONS
IMAGE GALLERY PROTOCOLS
HHV-6 and HHV-7 PAGE Diagnostic Microchip Development
MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES TO HERPESVIRUSES LINKS TO OTHER SITES

POSITIONS HELD

  • Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, 1993 to present.
  • Technical Director, Molecular Pathology Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, 1998 to present.
  • Director, Molecular Pathology Laboratory, Department of Pathology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, 1995-1998
  • Clinical Associate Professor (volunteer), University of Nebraska Medical Center 1993 to 1999.
  • Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 1988 to 1993.
  • Research Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Georgetown University Medical School, Washington, DC, 1984 to 1988.
  • Research Fellow, Department of Microbiology, Mayo Clinic,Rochester, Minnesota, 1983 to 1984.
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Microbiology, Mayo Clinic,Rochester, Minnesota, 1982 to 1983.
  • Guest Researcher at Kovler Viral Oncology lab., University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (Dr. Elliot Kieff) September 1979
  • Research Associate at Department of Tumor Biology,Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, 1981 to 1982
  • Graduate student and Research Assistant at Department of Tumor Biology, Stockholm, Sweden, 1976 to 1981
  • Student Researcher at the Wallenberg Laboratory, Uppsala, Sweden, 1974-1975
     

    • EDUCATION

  • Ph.D. Virology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm , Sweden 1981
  • B.Sc. in Molecular Biology, University of Uppsala, Sweden, 1975

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    CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS

    My research interest is focused on the lymphotropic human herpesviruses, EBV, HHV-6, HHV-7 and HHV-8. While EBV and HHV-8 are associated with human neoplasm's (Burkitt's lymphoma, NPC, Kaposi's Sarcoma), HHV-6 and HHV-7 have not been associated with any known neoplasm's in humans. In my laboratory we identified several strains of HHV-6 which can transform T-lymphocytes and endothelial cells in vitro. Characterization of these immortalized or transformed cell line are in progress. Recently we also successfully isolated a HHV-7 genome containing T-cell line from a patient, and we are in progress to identify latency associated viral transcript in this cell line.

    In the past few years T-cell lymphomas containing latent EBV genomes have been detected, and it was proposed that EBV may be the causative agent of these lymphomas. In vitro EBV only infects B-cells; therefore no in vitro model exists for transformation of T-cells by EBV. In my laboratory, methods were developed to introduce EBV into T-cells and transform or immortalize them. The immortalized T-cell lines contain episomal EBV genome and express EBNA-1 and other EBV latency associated proteins. Our protocol represents the first in vitro transformation method of T-cells by EBV and the method is presently in use to identify the viral and cellular genes involved in the transformation and establishment of EBV latency in T-cells.

    During the last several years in my laboratory, monoclonal antibodies were developed to twenty one distinct EBV proteins, seventeen HHV-6 proteins, six HHV-7 proteins, four CMV proteins, two HSV-1 proteins, and four HHV-8 proteins . We have approximately 200 hybridomas some of which react with the same viral protein, but each one recognizes a different epitope on the corresponding protein. These monoclonals are used in my research to characterize the interaction between these viruses and the host cells.


    PUBLICATIONS

    Go to Janos Luka's Publications

    SOME OF MY FAVORITE LINKS

    Martindale's Health Science Guide

    American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

    The Garry Lab Web Pages-WWW Virology Servers

    The Antibody Resource Page

    WEB Path

    ATCC Home page

    BCM search launcher

    For model Railroad fans
     
     
    MicroMacro
    European model trains
     

     

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    Revised: June 5, 2000 Nedstat Counter