CONTACT INFORMATIONCREDENTIALSPUBLICATIONSJoshua C. Munger, Ph.D.Contact InformationPhone NumbersOffice: (585) 273-4800Fax: (585) 271-2683Research LabsVisit Lab WebsiteLocationsUniversity of Rochester Medical CenterSchool of Medicine and Dentistry601 Elmwood Ave, Box 712Rochester, NY 14642Faculty AppointmentsProfessor - Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics (SMD) BiographyResearchA major focus of our laboratory is human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a herpes virus, which is the leading cause of congenital viral infection, occurring in approximately 1% of all live births. Congenital HCMV infection results in central nervous system damage in the majority of symptomatic newborns. HCMV infection also poses a serious health risk to immunosuppressed individuals, increasing morbidity in the elderly and in patients receiving immunosuppressive chemotherapy, including cancer patients, transplant recipients, and AIDS patients. The majority of the projects in our lab study the interfaces between viruses and the host cell that determine the outcome of infection. Specifically, we focus on how viruses usurp cellular metabolic controls and subvert cellular anti-viral signaling to support productive infection. The goal of our laboratory is to increase our mechanistic understanding of these processes to identify novel avenues for therapeutic intervention that could prevent virally-associated pathogenesis. The global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths globally. Anti-viral therapeutic strategies are desperately needed to attenuate SARS-CoV-2-associated disease. We have initiated a high-throughput pharmacologic screen of a unique metabolism-focused compound library to identify drugs that limit coronavirus infection in pulmonary human fibroblasts. Our preliminary data has identified several compounds that substantially inhibit coronavirus infection. Our laboratory is in the process of validating the anti-viral activity of these compounds against SARS-CoV-2. In addition, we are elucidating how coronaviruses modulate cellular metabolism to support productive infection in an attempt to identify viral metabolic vulnerabilities that might be targeted for further therapeutic development.PublicationsJournal Articles12/6/2022Moreno I, Rodríguez-Sánchez I, Schafer X, Munger J. "Human cytomegalovirus induces neuronal enolase to support virally mediated metabolic remodeling." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.. 2022 Dec 6; 119(49):e2205789119. Epub 2022 Dec 02. 7/14/2022Ciesla J, Moreno I, Munger J. "TNF?-induced metabolic reprogramming drives an intrinsic anti-viral state." PLoS pathogens.. 2022 Jul 14; 18(7):e1010722. Epub 2022 Jul 14. 11/27/2021Raymonda MH, Ciesla JH, Monaghan M, Leach J, Asantewaa G, Smorodintsev-Schiller LA, Lutz MM, Schafer XL, Takimoto T, Dewhurst S, Munger J, Harris IS. "Pharmacologic profiling reveals lapatinib as a novel antiviral against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro." Virology.. 2021 Nov 27; 566:60-68. Epub 2021 Nov 27. VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONSClose WindowSchedule an appointment with Joshua C. Munger, Ph.D.Please answer the following questions to help us find the right appointment for you.Important: If you believe that you have a medical or psychiatric emergency, please call 911 or go to the nearest hospital. This website is not intended for emergency care.Have you seen this provider in the last 2 years?YesNoExisting Patient Schedule or request a follow up appointment online through MyChart. If you do not have a MyChart account, please close this window and call the appointment phone number. Joshua C. Munger, Ph.D. is currently scheduling for the following appointment type(s): Our policy does not permit patients to establish care with multiple providers within the same practice or specialty without prior approval. If you choose a new provider in the same office, we will cancel the appointment. Please contact the office directly with questions on this policy.