Skip to content
Gillian M. Schiralli Lester, Ph.D.

Gillian M. Schiralli Lester, Ph.D.

Contact

Call Center (585) 276-3000

About Me

Faculty Appointments

Research Assistant Professor - Department of Pediatrics, Neonatology (SMD)

Credentials

Post-doctoral Training & Residency

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA 2009 - 2015

Education

PhD | Pennsylvania State University, State College. Immunology of Infectious Disease. 2009

BS | Niagara University. Biology. 2003

Awards

Young Investigator Award. 2014

Young Investigator Award. 2011

Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellowship. 2010 - 2011

Graduate Student Travel Award. 2008

Graduate Fellowship Award. 2003 - 2004

Research

In general, I am interested in the regulation of gene expression and how that relates to disease progression. My previous studies have centered on investigating cell signaling mechanisms which regulate Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) replication with the goal of identifying novel factors which c...
In general, I am interested in the regulation of gene expression and how that relates to disease progression. My previous studies have centered on investigating cell signaling mechanisms which regulate Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) replication with the goal of identifying novel factors which could then be targeted for therapeutic development. I now turn my focus onto developing gene delivery strategies to treat acute lung injury. I am particularly interested in dissecting cellular pathways which are required for cytoplasmic trafficking fo plasmid DNA into the nucleus, the site of efficient transcription. Understanding the minimal signals and cell machinery that are required for DNA movement will provide the needed background for developing novel routes for targeted gene delivery in specific cell types.

Publications

Journal Articles

Negative elongation factor (NELF) coordinates RNA polymerase II pausing, premature termination, and chromatin remodeling to regulate HIV transcription.

Natarajan M, Schiralli Lester GM, Lee C, Missra A, Wasserman GA, Steffen M, Gilmour DS, Henderson AJ

The Journal of biological chemistry.. 2013 September 6288 (36):25995-6003. Epub 07/24/2013.

Interleukin 2-inducible T cell kinase (ITK) facilitates efficient egress of HIV-1 by coordinating Gag distribution and actin organization.

Schiralli Lester GM, Akiyama H, Evans E, Singh J, Gummuluru S, Henderson AJ

Virology.. 2013 February 5436 (1):235-43. Epub 12/20/2012.

Mechanisms of HIV Transcriptional Regulation and Their Contribution to Latency.

Schiralli Lester GM, Henderson AJ

Molecular biology international. 2012 2012 :614120. Epub 06/03/2012.

Selective targeting of ITK blocks multiple steps of HIV replication.

Readinger JA, Schiralli GM, Jiang JK, Thomas CJ, August A, Henderson AJ, Schwartzberg PL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.. 2008 May 6105 (18):6684-9. Epub 04/28/2008.

Signal transduction induced by apoptotic cells inhibits HIV transcription in monocytes/macrophages.

Gekonge BN, Schiralli G, Schlegel RA, Henderson AJ

Journal of leukocyte biology.. 2006 October 80 (4):953-60. Epub 08/02/2006.