Catherine A. Freije

Genetic accessibility, not superior fitness, determines which anti-HBs antibody escape variants are selected in patients

This study identifies that genetic accessibility, not superior fitness, determines the selection of anti-HBs antibody escape variants in patients using in vivo screening.

The HBV basal core promoter mutation confers a replicative advantage and transcriptionally reprograms hepatocytes toward HCC subtypes

This study shows that HBV BCP mutations enhance viral replication and alter hepatocyte transcription, linking to specific HCC subtypes.

A CRISPR-Cas9 platform for primary human hepatocytes enables arrayed screening and in vivo validation of HBV host factors

The paper develops CRISPR-Cas9 delivery methods for primary human hepatocytes to enable efficient gene editing and screening of HBV host factors.

Orthogonal CRISPR screens and human liver chimeric mice identify hepatitis B virus host factors

The paper identifies HBV host factors using CRISPR screens and human liver chimeric mice, finding that EXOC1 is antiviral and ZCCHC14 is proviral.

Pan-viral ORFs discovery using Massively Parallel Ribosome Profiling

This study uses Massively Parallel Ribosome Profiling to identify thousands of viral ORFs, including non-canonical ones, and shows their impact on HLA-I peptides and protein synthesis regulation.

A genome-wide arrayed CRISPR screen identifies PLSCR1 as an intrinsic barrier to SARS-CoV-2 entry that recent virus variants have evolved to resist

The paper identifies PLSCR1 as a host factor restricting SARS-CoV-2 entry, which recent variants have evolved to bypass, through a CRISPR screen and integration of genetic studies.

Deployable CRISPR-Cas13a diagnostic tools to detect and report Ebola and Lassa virus cases in real-time

This paper develops CRISPR-Cas13a-based diagnostics for real-time detection of Ebola and Lassa viruses in field settings, demonstrating sensitivity and usability in clinical samples.

CRISPR-based surveillance for COVID-19 using genomically-comprehensive machine learning design

A machine-learning design pipeline produced CRISPR-Cas13 detection assays for 67 viral taxa; the best of 4 screened SARS-CoV-2 designs reached 10 copies/μl on synthetic RNA.

Genome sequencing reveals Zika virus diversity and spread in the Americas

This study sequenced 110 Zika virus genomes from 10 countries, revealing rapid expansion in Brazil, multiple introductions into other regions, and undetected circulation before confirmed cases.