Usually, when a student comes up close with a virus, it means they’ve caught the “freshman flu.” Not so in the Rawle lab, where student researchers study how viruses interact with model lipid membranes.
Associate Professor of Chemistry Bob Rawle studies how viruses bind and fuse to cell membranes. Before arriving at the College, Rawle earned his doctorate at Stanford and conducted postdoctoral research on the biophysics of influenza virus and Zika virus membrane fusion. Rawle’s lab work at the College continues his research into viruses as he and student researchers study Sendai virus, Dengue virus like particles (VLPs), and model lipid membranes.
Though the lab studies viruses, experiments do not place student researchers at risk of infection. Sendai virus cannot infect humans and VLPs lack the genetic material of a virus, negating their infectivity. Student researchers in the lab work in groups that focus on specific aspects of the lab’s research. “Everyone has their own particular question they are trying to answer within their project area,” Rawle said.
For some projects, the lab creates artificial lipid bilayers that allow researchers to control an otherwise complex cellular environment. “This allows us to ask very targeted questions about the roles of different molecules in the lipid membrane in a way that would be difficult otherwise,” Rawle said.
One of the lab’s current projects studies the binding mechanism of the Sendai virus, a paramyxovirus pathogenic to mice and other small animals. Katherine Bai ’26 joined the lab during her sophomore year and is currently writing her senior thesis on this research. “I am looking at what different factors affect the process of infection, including manipulating the acidity of an environment, and introducing other compounds into the overall cell membrane,” she said.
Another project in the lab examines the transmission of flaviviruses, which include pathogens like Dengue and Zika viruses that are normally transmitted through mosquitos to humans. Research assistants Miranda Kimm ’26 and Alice Walker ’27 perform fusion assays to study how Dengue-like viruses interact with model lipid membranes.
The Rawle lab has collaborated with Priscilla Yang, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford, for several years to examine the molecular fusion mechanism of the Dengue virus.
Another project in the Rawle lab is the bioanalytical study of model lipid membranes. Rawle and the student researchers hope to examine the lipid composition of membranes and develop a new set of model membranes created from human red blood cells. This research could have broad applications for biotechnology and antiviral drug creation.
For the students involved in Rawle’s lab, the work is both satisfying and fun. “There’s a lot of personal growth over the years in the lab,” Bai said. “Seeing how much I and the people around me have grown in the lab is a very rewarding experience.”
The lab also recently created a TikTok page to film lab videos and engages in impromptu dance parties. “We have a great dynamic going,” Kimm said.
Walker said her favorite part of the lab is working with others and learning new skills. “The science is both remarkable and beautiful,” she added.
Rawle takes pride in the students’ findings, some of which have been published in scientific journals. For Rawle, the opportunity to mentor and work with students in the lab is invaluable. “Learning myself from how they push me is the most rewarding part,” he said.
Inés Garcia, who is a research assistant in the Rawle lab and serves as managing editor of the Record, was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.
