Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus · BiochemistrySzpara Lab
Moriah Szpara · University Park, Pennsylvania
Research Focus
Dr. Moriah Szpara's lab at Penn State University focuses on understanding how genetic variation in the herpes simplex virus (HSV) affects disease outcomes in newborns. They investigate why some infants experience severe complications, like infection in the brain or other organs, while others have milder forms. The lab combines genomic analysis of viral samples with laboratory experiments and animal models to uncover links between viral genetics and clinical results, aiming to improve prevention and treatment strategies for high-risk newborns.
herpes simplex virusneonatal infectionviral geneticscomparative genomicsdisease outcomesviral pathogenesisin vivo modelshigh-throughput sequencingcell-based phenotyping
Research Aims
3AIM 01Characterize viral genetic variation in neonatal HSV infections using high-throughput sequencing.
AIM 02Assess the in vitro replication and spread of HSV isolates in various cell types.
AIM 03Evaluate the virulence and neuroinvasion capacity of HSV strains in murine infection models.
Skills the Lab Values
high-throughput sequencingcell cultureanimal modelsviral isolation techniquesgenetic analysisplaque assaysimmunofluorescencebioinformaticsdata analysis
Output against the department
Publications75bottom 14% of dept.344th of 402
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations2.8kbottom 13% of dept.348th of 402
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.