At Georgia State University, researchers are focusing on some of the world’s most significant viral threats, including West Nile, Zika, dengue, and COVID-19. Mukesh Kumar, associate professor of biology and director of the Molecular Basis of Disease Area of Focus at Georgia State, leads efforts to understand how these viruses spread and affect the immune system.
Kumar has spent over a decade studying flaviviruses—mosquito-borne viruses known for causing severe illness such as brain inflammation and neurological damage. His expertise in neurotropic flaviviruses positioned him to respond quickly when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“The pandemic showed us how quickly a virus can disrupt the world, but it also taught us how science can address that challenge,” Kumar says. “The lessons we learned aren’t just about COVID-19. They’re the building blocks that will help us respond more effectively next time.”
During the early days of the pandemic, Kumar’s lab was among a small number ready to handle live SARS-CoV-2 research due to its high-containment setup and prior experience with infectious viruses. The team worked long hours under strict biosafety protocols to study how COVID-19 affected different organs and why some people became severely ill.
“We were already working with infectious viruses and had the infrastructure in place,” Kumar says. “That allowed us to pivot quickly when the pandemic hit.”
Graduate students like Shannon Stone (Ph.D. ’25) and Amany Elsharkawy (Ph.D. ’25) contributed to studies examining viral movement through the brain and lungs and analyzing genetic responses to infection. Stone described working 16-hour days in a high-security lab environment. Elsharkawy focused on understanding how different variants triggered lung inflammation.
GeoVax, a biotechnology company based in Georgia, invested $500,000 in preclinical research at Kumar’s lab. This funding supported development of a new vaccine targeting people with weakened immune systems. Using a model engineered with human ACE2 receptors—the entry point for SARS-CoV-2—the researchers found that a single dose provided full protection against variants such as Beta and Delta.
“They believed in the science we were doing,” Kumar says. “It gave us the freedom to move fast.”
“When we saw that level of protection from just one dose, it was a big moment,” Kumar says. “It suggested we might be able to offer real protection to people who’ve been left behind by current vaccines.”
Research findings were published in the journal Vaccines earlier this year. GeoVax is now conducting several clinical trials based on this work.
Elsharkawy’s research identified that certain variants activate a protein called ZBP1 in lung cells. While ZBP1 typically helps fight viruses by triggering an immune response, overactivation by some variants causes excessive lung inflammation.
“It’s like the body tries to fight too hard,” Elsharkawy says. “And in the process, it ends up causing damage.”
Kumar notes that identifying ZBP1 as a therapeutic target could lead to new treatment approaches beyond vaccines or antivirals.
Julia Hilliard, professor of biology and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar at Georgia State, directs research at the National B Virus Resource Center. Her work focuses on zoonotic viruses like B virus—which usually infects monkeys but can cause severe disease in humans—and explores their effects on the nervous system. The center provides 24/7 diagnostic support for this rare infection worldwide.
Hilliard is also co-inventor on a recent patent for an antiviral approach that strengthens natural immune defenses against viruses such as Zika.
In addition to laboratory research, Georgia State’s School of Public Health uses mathematical models to track outbreaks globally. Gerardo Chowell, a mathematical epidemiologist at Georgia State, developed a “sub-epidemic framework” during the COVID-19 pandemic that treats large outbreaks as overlapping smaller ones. This approach has improved short-term forecasting accuracy for diseases beyond COVID-19—including HIV and Mpox—and has been applied to forecast trends for HIV in the U.S., as well as global diabetes-related mortality.
“We use mathematical models to understand how an outbreak unfolds — what causes new cases, who’s affected and what interventions may control the epidemic,” Chowell says.
“Our goal is to develop reliable forecasts which can allow for time to act and help prevent worst-case scenarios for these diseases,” Chowell says.
Georgia State researchers continue their efforts to advance understanding and preparedness for emerging infectious diseases through laboratory discoveries and data-driven modeling.
