Web Content Display

Dr. Kartik Chandran

Web Content Display

Ebola Virus Expert

Dr. Kartik Chandran and his team are at the forefront of Ebola virus research, and discovered the link between the NPC1 gene and Ebola's ability to infect the body.

Biography

Dr. Chandran is Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. He has done extensive research into the mechanism by which filoviruses, such as Ebola, enter host cells.

Web Content Display

Web Content Display

Image

Discovering the NPC-Ebola Link

"We essentially took cells and knocked the genes out of them randomly...when you knocked NPC1 out of the cell, Ebola was absolutely unable to infect that cell."

Web Content Display

Researching the NPC-Ebola Link

Mice

When Dr. Chandran and his team gave Ebola to a mouse without the NPC1 gene, they found that the virus was unable to even begin infecting its host.

NPC Patient Cells

Cells donated by NPC-affected patients through Coriell allow Dr. Chandran's team to continue researching treatments for Ebola and other similar viruses. In turn, Dr. Chandran's detailed research into the NPC1 gene may help develop treatments for NPC.

Web Content Display

Goals

Therapeutics

Dr. Chandran hopes to develop treatments for a range of viral infections by studying the NPC1 gene.

Precise Understanding

Dr. Chandran's team focuses on mapping the process by which Ebola affects the NPC1 gene down to the atomic level.

Web Content Display

Image

Motivation

"...by working on really basic aspects of how the virus uses our own cells in our body and exploits them...we could find Achilles' heels for this virus so that we could actually develop a treatment."

Web Content Display

Image

Give Your Cells.

If you're an NPC carrier or NPC patient, your cells matter. Learn how contributing a sample of your skin cells to the Coriell Institute - at no financial cost - can help researchers find a cure for NPC and other diseases.