Grace Nielsen
ARTDTP Trainee
Program: Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology
Faculty Advisor: Stefan Sarafianos, PhD
Grace Neilsen received her BS in Biochemistry from Brigham Young University in 2021. She worked in a physical chemistry lab as an undergraduate characterizing the thermodynamic properties of complex inorganic materials. After graduating, she turned her attention more towards the biological sciences and entered into the Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology (BCDB) program at Emory University with an interest in studying viruses. She is mentored by Dr. Stefan Sarafianos whose lab has a strong history studying antivirals against HIV, HBV, SARS-CoV 2, and more. Her project there focuses on antiviral resistance in the SARS-CoV 2 main protease, non-structural protein 5 (nsp5). THe current leading antiviral for treating COVID-19 is Paxlovid, developed by Pfizer, Inc.. Paxlovid includes a protease inhibitor called nirmatrelvir (NIR) that mimics the substrate of nsp5. As Paxlovid becomes more widely used, However, resistance to NIR will likely develop as the use of Paxlovid increases in clinical settings. Understanding how specific amino acid substitutions confer resistance will inform the design of the next generation of inhibitors. Accordingly, Grace's project seeks to determine the mechanism of resistance of different mutations in nsp5 and how to overcome this resistance.