Dr. Mike Finley Summers

Dr. Mike Finley Summers

Professor · Tenured

Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences

CNMS

He/Him/His/Himself

Research interests

Our laboratory is interested in understanding how retroviruses assemble, mature, and selectively package their RNA genomes, and in developing therapeutic approaches for inhibiting these processes. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and biophysical methods are the primary tools employed in our laboratory that allow us to study the structural and dynamical properties of viral constituents and their interactions under native-like solution conditions. Our efforts focus primarily on the viral Gag proteins of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, and nonhuman pathogenic retroviruses, some of which are used as vectors in human gene therapy trials and for the treatment of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).

Education

  • Ph D, Bioinorganic ChemistryEmory University (1984)
  • BS, ChemistryUniversity of West Florida (1980)