Author

Yani P. Ahearn

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Listed by name: these papers carry no ORCID for this author, so different people with the same name may be mixed together.

Biology Disciplines

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Microbiology· 4

Signature Assays, Organisms & Methods

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Approach:experimental assay· 4 Research Focus:host-pathogen & immune response· 4 Organism:human· 3 Assay:bulk RNA-seq· 1 Research Focus:cancer & tumor microenvironment· 1 Research Focus:drug response / drug discovery· 1 Research Focus:gene regulatory network inference· 1 Organism:mouse· 1

Frequent Co-Authors

Kumari G. Lokugamage· 4 shared Leah K. Estes· 4 shared R. Elias AlvaradoiD· 4 shared Vineet D. MenacheryiD· 4 shared Angelica L. Morgan· 3 shared Bryan A. JohnsoniD· 3 shared David Hughes WalkeriD· 3 shared Jessica A. PlanteiD· 3 shared

Activity by Year

2025-2026 · peak 2/yr

Co-Author Collaboration Network

10 top collaborators · 45 mutual co-author links

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4 shared papersMicrobiology

Kumari G. Lokugamage

Mutual co-authors in cluster

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4 papers

Recent·Most cited

Antagonism of stress granules key for SARS-CoV-2 infection and pathogenesis.

R. Elias Alvarado, Jennifer Chen, Kumari G. Lokugamage, Yiyang Zhou, Leah K. Estes, Angelica L. Morgan, Yani P. Ahearn, Xiangxue Deng, Lilin Lai, Arian Moayyed, William M. Meyers, Jessica A. Plante, Kenneth S. Plante, David Hughes Walker, Xuping Xie, , Vineet D. Menachery

This study shows that disrupting both NSP3 and nucleocapsid SG antagonism reduces SARS-CoV-2 replication and disease, suggesting stress granule activation as a therapeutic target.

bioRxiv · Jun 18, 2026 · PreprintMicrobiology

Key residues in SARS-CoV-2 NSP3 hyper variable region are necessary to modulate early stress granule activity.

R. Elias Alvarado, Kumari G. Lokugamage, Dimitriya Hristoforova Garvanska, Leah K. Estes, Yani P. Ahearn, Alyssa M. McLeland, Arian Moayyed, Jennifer C. Chen, Blanca Lopez Mendez, Jessica A. Plante, Kenneth S. Plante, Johnson Bh, Jakob Nilsson, Vineet D. Menachery

This study identifies key residues in SARS-CoV-2 NSP3 that are critical for FXR1 binding and stress granule disruption, showing their role in viral replication and pathogenesis.

Journal of Virology · Jan 14, 2026Peer-reviewedMicrobiology

SARS-CoV-2 EndoU-ribonuclease regulates RNA recombination and impacts viral fitness.

Yiyang Zhou, Yani P. Ahearn, Kumari G. Lokugamage, Angelica L. Morgan, R. Elias Alvarado, Leah K. Estes, William M. Meyers, Alyssa M. McLeland, Jordan T. Murray, Joseph R Rouse, Meenakshi Kar, Mehul S. Suthar, David Hughes Walker, Bryan A. Johnson, Andrew L. Routh, Vineet D. Menachery

This study shows SARS-CoV-2 NSP15 (EndoU) regulates RNA recombination and viral fitness, with its loss reducing replication but increasing inflammation and defective genomes.

Nature Communications · Dec 2, 2025Peer-reviewedMicrobiology

The furin cleavage site is required for pathogenesis, but not transmission of SARS-CoV-2

Angelica L. Morgan, Michelle N. Vu, Yiyang Zhou, Kumari G. Lokugamage, William M. Meyers, R. Elias Alvarado, Yani P. Ahearn, Leah K. Estes, Jessica A. Plante, Bryan A. Johnson, Mehul S. Suthar, David Hughes Walker, Kenneth S. Plante, Vineet D. Menachery

This study shows that the furin cleavage site (FCS) is essential for SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis but not for transmission, as a mutant lacking FCS was transmissible in hamsters but caused less severe disease.

Journal of Virology · Jun 10, 2025Peer-reviewedMicrobiology