Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
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Desarey Morales Vasquez

Ph.D. Student

Research Topic: Understanding the molecular biology, immunology, and pathogenesis of RNA viruses (such as Zika and SARS-CoV-2). Also working towards identifying antivirals that can be used in the treatment of viral infections in humans.

Education

B.S., Biochemistry, Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles, 2018

Publications

  1. Ávila-Pérez, G., Nogales, A., Park, JG., Morales Vasquez, D., et al. In vivo rescue of recombinant Zika virus from an infectious cDNA clone and its implications in vaccine development. Sci Rep 10, 512 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-57545-2
  2. Morales Vasquez, D.; Park, J.-G.; Ávila-Pérez, G.; Nogales, A.; de la Torre, J.C.; Almazan, F.; Martinez-Sobrido, L. Identification of Inhibitors of ZIKV Replication. Viruses 2020, 12, 1041. https://doi.org/10.3390/v12091041
  3. Chiem, K., Morales Vasquez, D., et al., (2021) Generation and Characterization of Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Expressing Reporter Genes. Journal of Virology, 95(7): e02209-20.
  4. Silvas, J.A., Morales Vasquez, D., et al., (2021) Contribution of SARS-CoV-2 Accessory Proteins to Viral Pathogenicity in K18 Human ACE2 Transgenic Mice. Journal of Virology, 95(17): e00402-21.
  5. Chiem, K., Morales Vasquez, D., et al., (2021) A Bifluorescent-Based Assay for the Identification of Neutralizing Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern In Vitro and In Vivo. Journal of Virology, 95(22): e01126-21.
  6. Ye, C., Chiem, K., Park, J.-G., Silvas, J.A., Morales Vasquez, D., et al., (2021) Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamic in vivo using reporter-expressing viruses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(41): e2111593118.
  7. Morales Vasquez, D., Chiem, K., Silvas, J., Park, J. G., Ye, C., Martínez-Sobrido, L. Live Imaging and Quantification of Viral Infection in K18 hACE2 Transgenic Mice using Reporter-Expressing Recombinant SARS-CoV-2. J. Vis. Exp. (177), e63127, doi:10.3791/63127 (2021).
  8.  Gorshkov K, Morales Vasquez D, Chiem K, et al. SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein TR-FRET Assay Amenable to High Throughput Screening. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science. Article ASAP. DOI:10.1021/acsptsci.1c00182