Paul Thomas

A Mammarenavirus Close to Lassa Virus in a Patient with Meningoencephalitis | NEJM A 37-year-old man in Chad presented with a fever and a headache. An extensive evaluation identified a mammarenavirus, close to Lassa virus, in samples of cerebrospinal fluid.

This is an interesting case of a patient from Chad infected with a novel arenavirus species/variant/strain, presenting with meningoencephalitis.

IMO, could be classified as a highly divergent Lassa virus strain in a new country (similar to what Togo has observed).

www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/...

Delighted to share the peer-reviewed version of our article describing a prefusion-stabilized MARV GP vaccine immunogen and a best-in-class MARV neutralizing and protective antibody!

Led by @aminaddetia.bsky.social with @virbiotechnology.bsky.social

@hhmi.org

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Prefusion structure, evasion and neutralization of HSV-1 glycoprotein B - Nature Microbiology Cryo-EM structures of the stabilized prefusion conformation of the glycoprotein B ectodomain—the HSV-1 entry machine—identify a prefusion-specific neutralizing antibody and reveal how prefusion glycop...

🧪 🦠 Prefusion structure, evasion and neutralization of HSV-1 glycoprotein B www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Neutralizing antibodies against Chikungunya virus and structural elucidation of their mechanism of action pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41184282/ #cryoEM

Our new preprint is out 🥳🥳🥳

Henipaviruses, like Nipah and Hendra, package their genomes inside helical shells built by thousands of nucleoproteins. These nucleocapsids are essential to protect the viral RNA, but how do they ever let the polymerase in to read the sequence?

👇

Structural Mechanism of Prestin-Membrane Mechanotransduction https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.31.685930v1

HKU25 clade MERS-related coronaviruses use ACE2 as a functional receptor pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41168429/ #cryoEM

Genetic diversity in horseshoe bat ACE2 and sarbecovirus spike proteins mutually shape one another https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.26.684670v1

Development of a cross-protective common cold coronavirus vaccine | Journal of Virology Human coronaviruses like OC43 cause disease in vulnerable populations, yet no approved vaccines exist. We developed an mRNA vaccine targeting the OC43 spike protein that protects mice not only against...

Development of a cross-protective common cold coronavirus vaccine journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Bat sarbecovirus WIV1-CoV bears an adaptive mutation that alters spike dynamics and enhances ACE2 binding Author summary Recent epidemic-causing coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, originated in bats. Large numbers of such viruses circulate in bats and pose clear and present risks to humans. However, our...

Bat sarbecovirus WIV1-CoV bears an adaptive mutation that alters spike dynamics and enhances ACE2 binding

journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

Computationally designed mRNA-launched protein nanoparticle immunogens elicit protective antibody and T cell responses in mice Genetic delivery of designed protein nanoparticles displaying the SARS-CoV-2 RBD elicits potent neutralizing antibody and CD8 T cell responses.

Applying computational design, researchers in #ScienceTranslationalMedicine present an integrated vaccine platform that combines the strengths of mRNA and nanoparticle technologies, and show it elicits strong immune responses in a SARS-CoV-2 model system. https://scim.ag/3W9M09p

Very excited that my final postdoctoral work is now online in Cell @cellpress.bsky.social.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Using 16 (!) cryo-EM structures, we uncovered how the three proteins coronin, cofilin and AIP1 work together to rapidly disassemble actin filaments.

Understanding the future risk of bat coronavirus spillover into humans: correlating sarbecovirus receptor usage, host range, and antigenicity. Sarbecoviruses interact with their receptor, angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), via the receptor binding domain (RBD) of Spike, the immunodominant target for neutralising antibodies. Understandin...

Really excited to have been a small part of this work investigating sarbecovirus host range, receptor usage and antigenicity!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.03.673949v1

A nanobody specific to prefusion glycoprotein B neutralizes HSV-1 and HSV-2 - Nature A neutralizing nanobody specific to the prefusion conformation of herpes simplex virus glycoprotein B has cross-species activity and offers insights into virus neutralization, possible immunogens and ...

Prefusion gB of HSV bound with a neutralizing nanobody www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Aminopeptidase N is a receptor for hedgehog merbecoviruses Merbecoviruses, closely related to the highly pathogenetic Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), circulate in hedgehogs throughout Europe and Asia, raising concerns about zoonotic t...

New preprint! If some merbecoviruses use DPP4 and others use ACE2, what do those hedgehog merbecoviruses use?! As it turns out, neither! In our latest study, we uncover the "missing" receptor for the MERS-related viruses in hedgehogs. [These findings were first shared at ASV this year] (1/6)

Characterization of the glycoproteins of fish and amphibian influenza B–like viruses Fish and amphibian influenza B–like viruses show functional divergence and lack immunity in humans.

Characterization of the glycoproteins of fish and amphibian influenza B–like viruses www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Structural elucidation of a unique binding mode by an intact alphavirus human IgG molecule to a quaternary epitope pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40830099/ #cryoEM

Our aim was to create a kit to produce in-house 1.2 holey carbon cryoEM grids, in three simple steps, at less than half of the prize, and without due times. I think we are there. Academic teams that want to know more, receive training or order a kit, please contact grids@puxano.com.

The N terminus of H3-influenza hemagglutinin as a site-of-vulnerability to neutralizing antibody Rawi et al. investigate the conserved, flexible, and accessible H3-hemagglutinin N terminus, which is 10 residues longer than that of other influenza subtypes. They find a “peptide-prime-trimer-boost”...

The N terminus of H3-influenza hemagglutinin as a site-of-vulnerability to neutralizing antibody www.cell.com/structure/fu...

Molecular organization of the New World arenavirus spike glycoprotein complex - Nature Microbiology Cryo-EM structures of the full-length Junin virus and Machupo virus spike glycoprotein complexes stabilized in the prefusion conformation. Analyses reveal features that regulate glycoprotein pH-depend...

Molecular organization of the New World arenavirus spike glycoprotein complex | @natmicrobiol.nature.com

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Discovery: mRNA vaccine candidate blocks malaria from reproducing inside mosquitoes, cuts transmission by up to 99.7%. Built on cryo-EM insights into parasite’s fertilisation machinery. A key step towards elimination. In @science.org

🔗 www.wehi.edu.au/news/reveale...

Vaccination with mRNA-encoded membrane-anchored HIV envelope trimers elicited tier 2 neutralizing antibodies in a phase 1 clinical trial Membrane-anchored HIV envelope trimer mRNA vaccines elicited high response rates of serum autologous tier 2 neutralizing antibodies in humans.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

VitriFlex: An Open-Source, Modular, and Customizable Robotic Platform for Cryo-EM Grid Preparation www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.24.666634v1 #cryoEM

In situ insights into antibody-mediated neutralization of a pre-fusion Junin virus glycoprotein complex pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40632652/ #cryoEM

A rationally designed 2C inhibitor prevents enterovirus D68-infected mice from developing paralysis - Nature Communications There are no vaccines or antivirals available against enterovirus D68. Here, the authors report Jun6504 as a 2C inhibitor and show that it provides broad-spectrum antiviral activity against EV-D68, EV...

"A rationally designed 2C inhibitor prevents enterovirus D68-infected mice from developing paralysis"

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Elicitation of liver-stage immunity by nanoparticle immunogens displaying P. falciparum CSP-derived antigens - npj Vaccines npj Vaccines - Elicitation of liver-stage immunity by nanoparticle immunogens displaying P. falciparum CSP-derived antigens

🚨 new paper alert 🚨

Here, we designed, characterized, and evaluated >100 #malaria vaccines built on our two-component nanoparticle platform!

This collaborative project was led by Dr. Mark Langowski
and is out now in npj Vaccines: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Always ‘one atom away’: The long, rocky journey to an HIV prevention breakthrough Developing lenacapavir, the drug newly approved to protect against HIV for six months in one shot, took basic science, sophisticated chemistry, and perseverance

To many, it is the next best thing to an HIV vaccine. The FDA approved a new way to prevent HIV infection: the antiretroviral drug lenacapavir, which provides almost complete protection for 6 months with a single injection in the abdomen.
www.science.org/content/arti...

Unveiling the structural spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 fusion by in situ cryo-ET - Nature Communications This study delineates the full sequence of SARS-CoV-2 spike-mediated membrane fusion and shows how S2-targeting antibodies inhibit this process, using a near-native functional fusion system and cryo-e...

"Unveiling the structural spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 fusion by in situ cryo-ET"

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Structural insights from vaccine candidates for EV-D68 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40467847/ #cryoEM

Check out our latest study, led by grad student Ryan McCool @rmccool.bsky.social‬, in collaboration with Vaccine Company. We were able to stabilize EBV gB in the prefusion conformation, determine its cryo-EM structure to 3.1 A, and assess its immunogenicity in mice. www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...