{"417401":{"#nid":"417401","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Taylor Wins Nerem Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBradford Taylor works in a multidisciplinary frontier of natural science called the \u0027physics of living systems.\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EA fifth-year Ph.D. student in physics, Taylor is focusing his thesis research on leveraging nonlinear models of complex biological systems to understand a form of hyper-parasitism in which viruses can exploit other viruses. There is only one place in the world where Taylor can carry out the next phase of his research, and thanks to the Nerem International Travel Award, that\u2019s exactly where he\u2019s going.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETaylor, who works in the group of Joshua Weitz, associate professor in the School of Biology and faculty member of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, will spend two weeks in Germany, working in the lab of Matthias Fischer at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg. That\u2019s where he\u2019ll continue work on his thesis, researching the biophysical dynamics of virophage (a term used to describe viruses that are parasites of giant viruses, which themselves are parasites of cells).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETaylor\u2019s previous research demonstrated the potential for virophage presence to reduce viral adundance while increasing host abundance. In other words, the host and virophage mutually benefit, because their interaction reduces the production of the virus. This three-way relationship between virophage, the virus it parasitizes, and the host cell may best be analogized by an ancient proverb, \u201cthe enemy of my enemy is my friend.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIt\u2019s a relationship that has become very familiar to Taylor, whose research on the population dynamics of virophage, viruses and host cells was published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology in 2013, a paper entitled, \u201cThe virus of my virus is my friend: ecological effects of virophage with alternative modes of coinfection.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EVirophage must coinfect a host that is infected with a distinct, giant virus in order to propagate.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cBradford\u0027s thesis work on viruses that interfere with and exploit other viruses will help shed light on biophysical mechanisms underlying coinfection and conflict in the microbial world,\u201d says Weitz, senior author of the paper in the Journal of Theoretical Biology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EMoving forward, Taylor plans to investigate the biophysical mechanism of coinfection and its effect on population dynamics for the \u201cMavirus\u201d virophage and the giant \u201cCafeteria roenbergensis\u201d virus. Current discussion centers on two alternative hypotheses for entry: a paired entry mode (PEM) where virophage adhere to the virus externally, before entering the host; and an independent entry mode (IEM) in which virophage enter the host and lay dormant until coinfection proceeds with the arrival of the virus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cNot much is known regarding the mechanics of coinfection,\u201d according to Taylor. That\u2019s why he\u2019s going back to Germany. He visited Fischer, one of the world\u2019s few experts in virophage (first discovered in 2008), in spring 2014, \u201cin order to determine if IEM occurs in this system as theorized,\u201d Taylor says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWith his next visit (mid-July), supported by the Nerem Award, Taylor intends to, \u201cexperimentally determine the mechanics and dynamics of the IEM virophage coinfection strategy. Our results will be useful for future models that involve virophage and their role within ecological communities.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003EFollowing on this visit, Mr. Taylor will integrate his research findings to complete his thesis, with eyes on the horizon for postdoctoral opportunities following his graduation next year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETaylor is the 11th recipient of the Nerem International Travel Award, a program that began in 2005, and has received generous support from donors like Coe Bloomberg (ME, Class of 1966) and G.B. Espy (ME, Class of 1957) through the years, helping to increase the visibility of the Petit Institute around the planet, sending trainees from Georgia Tech to some of the world\u2019s top research universities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe program started when friends and colleagues of Bob Nerem, founding director of the Petit Institute, thought it would be a good idea to honor his contributions to bioengineering and his commitment to the Petit Institute, as well as his love for travel. So they established an annual award of up to $3,000 to support post-docs and graduate students traveling outside the U.S. for research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENerem loved the idea, but didn\u2019t want the prize to merely send a student to a conference. Instead, it wound up being all about research abroad, \u201cwhich I think is excellent,\u201d says Nerem, \u201cbecause our research is part of a global community.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECONTACT:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Ph.D. student from Weitz lab continuing his research in Germany"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPh.D. student from Weitz lab continuing his research in Germany\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Ph.D. student from Weitz lab continuing his research in Germany"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2015-06-23 13:11:27","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:18:45","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"417391":{"id":"417391","type":"image","title":"Bradford Taylor","body":null,"created":"1449254269","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:37:49","changed":"1475895155","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:35","alt":"Bradford Taylor","file":{"fid":"202579","name":"bradford.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bradford_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bradford_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2114075,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bradford_0.jpg?itok=RKMJE1DF"}}},"media_ids":["417391"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1808","name":"graduate students"},{"id":"129701","name":"physics of living systems"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}