Associate Member
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Topic: Evolution of HA stability and pH activation
Dr. Charles Russell completed his Ph.D. in Biophysical Chemistry in 1998 at the University of California at Berkeley. His doctoral research focused on membrane protein structure and binding to membranes. From 1998-2004, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Lamb of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Northwestern University. There, he dissected mechanisms by which paramyxoviruses and influenza viruses cause membrane fusion. His key discovery was the energy released upon paramyxovirus fusion (F) protein refolding is coupled to the work performed during membrane fusion. Since 2004, he has been a PI at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. His lab studies respiratory infectious diseases caused by influenza, paramyxoviruses, and pneumoviruses in normal and immunocompromised hosts. Research ranges from high-resolution structure to virus pathogenesis and transmission, connecting molecular mechanisms with biological phenotypes. A primary focus is the surface entry proteins, which the laboratory is also targeting with vaccines and therapeutics. The Russell lab developed the first negative-strand RNA reporter virus for non-invasive imaging of in vivo infection. They have used this system to dissect respiratory tract infection. They have also discovered that HA stability is a novel determinant of influenza virus transmission and interspecies adaptation. They continue to study the molecular determinants of influenza virus host range and developing enhanced influenza antigens for more broadly protective vaccines.