About The Croyle Lab
To date, viral vectors have held the most promise as vehicles for gene therapy because they are capable of delivering genes to certain tissues with high efficiency and establishing stable transgene expression for significant periods of time. However, routine use of viruses for therapeutic purposes is significantly limited by the innate immune response against capsid proteins, viral gene products and the therapeutic transgene. Recombinant viral preparations must also be extremely pure for clinical use. In this form, however, they often exhibit poor physical stability. Research in the Croyle Laboratory focuses on the development of methods to reduce the immune response and associated toxicity associated with recombinant viruses and methods to evaluate the physical stability of viral vectors during processing and purification. The primary vectors under investigation are adenoviruses, adeno-associated viruses and lentiviruses. Students in the Croyle Lab are exposed to cutting edge, interdisciplinary research relevant to the fields of cell biology, virology and immunology, with basic skills in pharmaceutics and drug delivery also emphasized. Projects address basic research problems and sharpen skills in hypothesis development and open-ended problem solving. Application of research techniques to clinical settings is also emphasized. Specific projects include:
• Biochemical Modification of Viruses to Evade the Immune Response
• Effect of Recombinant Viruses on Hepatic, Renal and Intestinal Drug Metabolism
• Vaccination Strategies for Rapid Induction of Immunity Against Dangerous Pathogens
• Production, Processing & Physical Stability of Recombinant Viruses
2023 Research
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Bajrovic I, Croyle MA. Challenges in vaccine transport: can we deliver without the cold chain?. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2023 Jan-Dec;22(1):933-936. Epub 2023 Oct 27. PMID: 37861215.
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Kieu Doan TN, Croyle MA. Physical characteristics and stability profile of recombinant plasmid DNA within a film matrix. Eur J Pharm Biopharm. 2023 Sep;190:270-283. Epub 2023 Aug 9. PMID: 37567395.
2022 Research
- Doan TNK, Le MD, Bajrovic I, Celentano L, Krause C, Balyan HG, Svancarek A, Mote A, Tretiakova A, Jude Samulski R, Croyle MA. Thermostability and in vivo performance of AAV9 in a film matrix. Commun Med (Lond). 2022 Nov 21;2(1):148. PMID: 36414773; PMCID: PMC9681776.
- McColl ER, Croyle MA, Zamboni WC, Honer WG, Heise M, Piquette-Miller M, Goralski KB. COVID-19 Vaccines and the Virus: Impact on Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics. Drug Metab Dispos. 2022 Oct 23:DMD-AR-2022-000934. doi: 10.1124/dmd.122.000934. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36273826.
- I Bajrovic, MD Le, MMD Davis, MA Croyle. Evaluation of intermolecular interactions required for thermostability of a recombinant adenovirus within a film matrix. January 2022. Journal of Controlled Release.
2021 Research
- MA Croyle, T Doan, MD LE, I Bajrovic, L Celentano, C Krause, ... & RJ Samulski. Novel Platform for Transport and Delivery of Recombinant Adeno-Associated Virus without Need for Cold Storage during Transit. Molecular Therapy (Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 86-86). USA: Cell Press. April 2021.
- K Jonsson-Schmunk, R Ghose and MA Croyle. Immunization and Drug Metabolizing Enzymes: Focus on Hepatic Cytochrome P450 3A. March 18, 2021. Expert Review of Vaccines.
2020 Research
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I Bajrovic, SC Schafer, DK Romanovicz, and MA Croyle. Novel Technology for Storage and Distribution of Live Vaccines and Other Biological Medicines at Ambient Temperature. 2020. Science Advances. 6(10):eaau4819. March 4, 2020.
** Featured in Scientific American and the subject of the BBC’s Science In Action podcast. In June 2020, was in top 5% of research papers tracked by Altmetrics in journal with regard to citation incidence. It received the Best Research Paper Award from the University Co-op as part of its 2022 Research Excellence Awards.