Moriah Szpara

Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Biology

Moriah Szpara

Research Summary

How genetic variation influences the outcomes of viral infection, particularly for neurotropic viruses such as herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2, using high-throughput sequencing, comparative genomics, neuronal cultures, and genetic manipulation of both host and pathogen.

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Human Herpesvirus 1 Viruses Genome Simplexvirus Infections Neurons Human Alphaherpesvirus 1 Genes Infection Genitalia Herpesviridae Cells Virulence Herpes Simplex Genomics Herpes Genitalis Phenotype Proteins Viral Genome Population Interferons North America Transcriptome Virus Diseases Dna

Most Recent Publications

Shared sequence characteristics identifiedin non-canonical rearrangements of HSV-1 genomes

Alina Shitrit, Valerya Nisnevich, Nofar Rozenshtein, Hila Kobo, Hoang Van Phan, Savaş Tay, Moriah Szpara, Matthew D. Weitzman, Nir Drayman, Oren Kobiler, 2023, Journal of Virology

Herpes Simplex Virus-2 Variation Contributes to Neurovirulence During Neonatal Infection

Cooper K. Hayes, Christopher K. Villota, Fiona B. McEnany, Stacey Cerón, Sita Awasthi, Moriah L. Szpara, Harvey M. Friedman, David A. Leib, Richard Longnecker, Matthew D. Weitzman, Lisa N. Akhtar, 2022, Journal of Infectious Diseases on p. 1499-1509

Viral Shedding 1 Year Following First-Episode Genital HSV-1 Infection

Christine Johnston, Amalia Magaret, Hyunju Son, Michael Stern, Molly Rathbun, Daniel Renner, Moriah Szpara, Sarah Gunby, Mariliis Ott, Lichen Jing, Victoria L. Campbell, Meei Li Huang, Stacy Selke, Keith R. Jerome, David M. Koelle, Anna Wald, 2022, JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association on p. 1730-1739

Multi-phenotype analysis for enhanced classification of 11 herpes simplex virus 1 strains

Sarah N. Dweikat, Daniel W. Renner, Christopher D. Bowen, Moriah L. Szpara, 2022, Journal of General Virology

Aerosolized Hydrogen Peroxide Decontamination of N95 Respirators, with Fit-Testing and Viral Inactivation, Demonstrates Feasibility for Reuse during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Thomas Derr, Melissa James, Chad Kuny, Devanshi Patel, Prem Kendell, Prem Kandel, Cassandra Field, Matthew Beckman, Kevin L. Hockett, Mark Bates, Troy Sutton, Moriah L. Szpara, 2022, mSphere on p. e00303-22

Comparison of herpes simplex virus 1 genomic diversity between adult sexual transmission partners with genital infection

Molly M. Rathbun, Mackenzie M. Shipley, Christopher D. Bowen, Stacy Selke, Anna Wald, Christine Johnston, Moriah L. Szpara, 2022, PLoS Pathogens

Dermatitis during Spaceflight Associated with HSV-1 Reactivation

Satish K. Mehta, Moriah L. Szpara, Bridgette V. Rooney, Douglass M. Diak, Mackenzie M. Shipley, Daniel W. Renner, Stephanie S. Krieger, Mayra A. Nelman-Gonzalez, Sara R. Zwart, Scott M. Smith, Brian E. Crucian, 2022, Viruses

A holistic perspective on herpes simplex virus (HSV) ecology and evolution

M Rathbun, Moriah Szpara, 2021, Advances in virus research on p. 27-57

Genome sequence of the virulent model herpes simplex virus 1 strain McKrae demonstrates the presence of at least two widely used variant strains

Daniel Renner, Lance Parsons, Jacob Shreve, Esteban Engel, C Kuny, Lynn Enquist, Donna Neumann, Colleen Mangold, Moriah Szpara, 2021, Genome Announcements

Viral infection of human neurons triggers strain-specific differences in host neuronal and viral transcriptomes

Colleen Mangold, Molly Rathbun, Daniel Renner, C Kuny, Moriah Szpara, 2021, PLoS Pathogens on p. e1009441

Most-Cited Papers

Differentiation of the SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cell line

Mackenzie M. Shipley, Colleen A. Mangold, Moriah L. Szpara, 2016, Journal of Visualized Experiments

Evolution and diversity in human herpes simplex virus genomes

Moriah L. Szpara, Derek Gatherer, Alejandro Ochoa, Benjamin Greenbaum, Aidan Dolan, Rory J. Bowden, Lynn W. Enquist, Matthieu Legendre, Andrew J. Davison, 2014, Journal of Virology on p. 1209-1227

Interferon-independent STING signaling promotes resistance to HSV-1 in vivo

Lívia H. Yamashiro, Stephen C. Wilson, Huntly M. Morrison, Vasiliki Karalis, Jing Yi J. Chung, Katherine J. Chen, Helen S. Bateup, Moriah L. Szpara, Angus Y. Lee, Jeffery S. Cox, Russell E. Vance, 2020, Nature Communications

ICTV virus taxonomy profile: Herpesviridae 2021

Derek Gatherer, Daniel P. Depledge, Carol A. Hartley, Moriah L. Szpara, Paola K. Vaz, Mária Benkő, Curtis R. Brandt, Neil A. Bryant, Akbar Dastjerdi, Andor Doszpoly, Ursula A. Gompels, Naoki Inoue, Keith W. Jarosinski, Rajeev Kaul, Vincent Lacoste, Peter Norberg, Francesco C. Origgi, Richard J. Orton, Philip E. Pellett, D. Scott Schmid, Stephen J. Spatz, James P. Stewart, Jakob Trimpert, Thomas B. Waltzek, Andrew J. Davison, Stuart G. Siddell, Elliot J. Lefkowitz, Sead Sabanadzovic, Peter Simmonds, F. Murilo Zerbini, Donald B. Smith, Arvind Varsani, 2021, Journal of General Virology

Impacts of genome-wide analyses on our understanding of human herpesvirus diversity and evolution

Daniel W. Renner, Moriah L. Szpara, 2018, Journal of Virology

A phylogenomic analysis of Marek's disease virus reveals independent paths to virulence in Eurasia and North America

Jakob Trimpert, Nicole Groenke, Maria Jenckel, Shulin He, Dusan Kunec, Moriah L. Szpara, Stephen J. Spatz, Nikolaus Osterrieder, Dino P. McMahon, 2017, Evolutionary Applications on p. 1091-1101

Rapid genome assembly and comparison decode intrastrain variation in human alphaherpesviruses

Lance R. Parsons, Yolanda R. Tafuri, Jacob T. Shreve, Christopher D. Bowen, Mackenzie M. Shipley, L. W. Enquist, Moriah L. Szpara, 2015, mBio on p. e02213--14

Differentiated human SHSY5Y cells provide a reductionist model of herpes simplex virus 1 neurotropism

Mackenzie M. Shipley, Colleen A. Mangold, Chad V. Kuny, Moriah L. Szpara, 2017, Journal of Virology

Viral forensic genomics reveals the relatedness of classic herpes simplex virus strains KOS, KOS63, and KOS79

Christopher D. Bowen, Daniel W. Renner, Jacob T. Shreve, Yolanda Tafuri, Kimberly M. Payne, Richard D. Dix, Paul R. Kinchington, Derek Gatherer, Moriah L. Szpara, 2016, Virology on p. 179-186

Genome-Wide Surveillance of Genital Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 From Multiple Anatomic Sites Over Time

Mackenzie M. Shipley, Daniel W. Renner, Mariliis Ott, David C. Bloom, David M. Koelle, Christine Johnston, Moriah L. Szpara, 2018, Journal of Infectious Diseases on p. 595-605

News Articles Featuring Moriah Szpara

May 24, 2022

Does herpes simplex virus change during transmission?

A new study helps explain how the virus that causes herpes might change during transmission between partners and over time during a long-term infection within a human host, which could have implications for future treatment strategies. The study, by a team of researchers from Penn State and the University of Washington, is the first to track genetic differences of the herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) as it moves between adult sexual transmission partners.

Full Article

Mar 29, 2021

Exploring variations in herpes virus symptoms

Why do some people with cold sores around their lips experience painful lesions, while others have no symptoms at all, yet still spread the virus? A new study conducted at Penn State finds that these differences could be due to variations in the way certain strains of herpes simplex (HSV-1) — the virus that causes cold sores, as well as genital herpes — activate gene expression in neurons.

Full Article

Mar 29, 2021

Penn State virologist Szpara to co-host COVID-19 vaccine education town halls

Moriah Szpara, associate professor of biology and of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, will co-host two COVID-19 vaccine education town halls at 7 p.m. EST on Wednesday, March 31, and Wednesday, April 7, with Benhur Lee of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

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May 26, 2020

New Design Helps N95 Mask Wearers Breathe Easier

Wearing high-grade filter masks can help protect against the novel coronavirus. But after a few hours, these tight-fitting devices can also make it really hard to breathe. N95 respirators, for example, are famously good at blocking viral particles—but they can also reduce the amount of available oxygen by up to 20 percent. Now some Stanford University researchers are addressing this problem with a portable device that pumps pure O2 directly to the wearer.

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Apr 22, 2020

New decontamination protocol permits reuse of N95 respirators

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a shortage of personal protective equipment, including “N95” respirators, needed by frontline healthcare providers. A new protocol using aerosolized hydrogen peroxide to decontaminate N95 respirators could allow them to be safely reused in some hospital settings, where the disinfectant is already being used for other decontamination purposes.

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