Pamela A. Silver

The transition to postpartum lactation establishes a state of maternal antiviral resilience

This study shows that postpartum lactation enhances maternal antiviral immunity, improving survival and disease outcomes after influenza infection.

Engineering Biosensors to Enhance Monoterpene Indole Alkaloid Production in Yeast

This study develops biosensors for MIAs and identifies metabolic engineering hits to enhance MIA production in yeast.

Engineered bacterial siderophore production accelerates rock weathering for carbon removal

This paper engineers bacteria to produce siderophores, enhancing olivine dissolution for CO2 removal, achieving 0.50 g CO2 per day removal in pilot reactors.

Ligify 2.0: A web server for predicted small molecule biosensors

Ligify 2.0 predicts small molecule interactions with transcription factors and provides a web interface for visualization and biosensor design.

groovDB in 2025: A community-editable database of small molecule biosensors

groovDB is updated to be community-editable with enhanced features, doubling its TF entries and making source code open-access.

Comparative evaluation of cell-based assay technologies for scoring drug-induced condensation of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein

The paper evaluates two cell-based assays for detecting drug-induced condensation of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein, finding they provide complementary information to traditional high-content screens.

Rational design of selective bispecific EPO-R/CD131 agonists

The paper designs bispecific agonists targeting EPO-R/CD131 to selectively activate signaling without engaging EPO-R/EPO-R, validated through structural modeling and functional assays.

A Coronaviral Pore-Replicase Complex Drives RNA Synthesis in Double Membrane Vesicles

This study identifies nsp4 as the key organizer of coronavirus DMV pores and shows it regulates mRNA exit with implications for antiviral strategies.

Tardigrade secretory proteins protect biological structures from desiccation

This study investigates SAHS proteins from tardigrades, showing they protect biological structures from desiccation by preventing liposome fusion and enhancing microbial survival.

A long-acting prolactin to combat lactation insufficiency

This paper engineers a long-acting prolactin variant to enhance lactation, showing it increases milk production and restores pup growth in mice.

LanTERN: a fluorescent sensor that specifically binds lanthanides

The paper introduces LanTERN, a fluorescent sensor engineered to bind lanthanides with high specificity and fluorescence response.

A screen for modulation of nucleocapsid protein condensation identifies small molecules with anti-coronavirus activity

The paper identifies small molecules that modulate SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein condensation and show anti-coronavirus activity across multiple strains.

High content screening and computational prediction reveal viral genes that suppress innate immune response

The paper develops a high-content assay to identify viral genes that suppress innate immunity and validates known and novel immune suppressors from various viral families.

Natural and designed proteins inspired by extremotolerant organisms can form condensates and attenuate apoptosis in human cells

The paper identifies extremotolerant proteins that form condensates and protect human cells from apoptosis, including a synthetic protein and a region of ApoE.

Protein sensors of bacterial kinase activity reveal antibiotic-dependent kinase activation in single cells

The paper develops new sensors to directly measure bacterial kinase activity at the single-cell level and shows that PrkC activity increases in response to a cell-wall-targeting antibiotic.

High-content screening of coronavirus genes for innate immune suppression revealsenhanced potency of SARS-CoV-2 proteins

The paper screens coronavirus proteins for innate immune suppression, finding SARS-CoV-2 proteins are more potent immune suppressors than other coronaviruses.

Rational engineering of an erythropoietin fusion protein to treat hypoxia

This paper describes the design of a modified erythropoietin fusion protein that promotes red blood cell production and neuroprotection without causing thrombosis.

Multi-omics Analysis of Dsup Expressing Human Cells Reveals Open Chromatin Architectural Dynamics Underyling Radioprotection

This study investigates how Dsup expression in human cells affects chromatin structure and radioprotection through multi-omic analyses.

Valorization of CO2 through lithoautotrophic production of sustainable chemicals in Cupriavidus necator

This paper demonstrates the ability of Cupriavidus necator to produce sustainable chemicals from CO2 under lithotrophic conditions, including sucrose, PHAs, and LCOs.

Towards a translationally-independent RNA-based synthetic oscillator using deactivated CRISPR-Cas

The paper constructs RNA-based synthetic oscillators using deactivated CRISPR-Cas systems in bacterial cells, finding that dCas12a oscillators perform better than dCas9 oscillators.

Enabling community-based metrology for wood-degrading fungi

The paper establishes standardized methods and reference materials for measuring wood-degrading fungi growth to enable reproducible and scalable bioproduction.

Synthetic cassettes for pH-mediated sensing, counting and containment

The paper develops a pH-sensitive kill switch and pulse-counting circuit for bacterial containment and sensing.

Stable neutralization of virulent bacteria using temperate phage in the mammalian gut

The paper uses engineered bacteriophage to reduce shigatoxin production in an enteric mouse model by targeting virulent bacteria without significantly affecting bacterial concentrations.

Rational Design of a Bifunctional AND-Gate Ligand to Modulate Cell-Cell Interactions

The paper designs a bifunctional AND-gate ligand to modulate cell-cell interactions by avoiding thrombosis and RBC adhesion.

Variability of bacterial behavior in the mammalian gut captured using a growth-linked single-cell synthetic gene oscillator

This study uses a synthetic gene oscillator to analyze bacterial growth dynamics in the gut under healthy and inflammatory conditions, revealing variability in single-cell behavior.

Engineered inter-species amino acid cross-feeding increases population evenness in a synthetic bacterial consortium

The paper engineers inter-species amino acid cross-feeding in bacterial consortia to increase population evenness in synthetic microbial communities.

Synthetic gene circuits enable systems-level biosensor discovery at the host-microbe interface

The paper develops a synthetic gene circuit system to identify in vivo-responsive biosensors in gut bacteria, demonstrating their utility in both healthy and inflamed gut environments.

A synthetic system that senses Candida albicans and inhibits virulence factors

This paper describes an engineered E. coli system that senses Candida albicans via HPA and inhibits hypha formation to reduce virulence.

Structure and function of a 9.6 megadalton bacterial iron storage compartment

This study characterizes a bacterial iron storage compartment using structural methods, revealing its large iron storage capacity and functional mechanism.

De-Novo-Designed Translational Repressors for Multi-Input Cellular Logic

This paper designs de-novo RNA-based translational repressors with multi-input logic capabilities for synthetic biology applications.