Dr. Alison Patteson

 

Alison Patteson is an Associate Professor of Physics right around the corner at Syracuse University! She received a bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics from Kutztown University in 2011, and then received a master’s degree and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016. She is currently working on her Postdoc at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.  Her specialties include biophysics, cell motility, and fluid mechanics. Specifically, she is interested in studying the non-equilibrium dynamics of bacterial suspensions, cytoskeletal polymers in animal cell migration, and the rheology of active cellular materials.

Patteson’s interests in the physics of cellular components culminated in a Covid research project for which she and a colleague received almost $200,000 worth of funding. Patteson, alongside her colleague Jennifer Schwarz, is looking at how cell-surface vimentin (a chain of proteins found in animal cells and bacteria) modulates the uptake of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (i.e. Covid-19) in host cells. Vimentin is part of the cytoskeleton in many different cell types, thus aligning well with Patteson’s specialties/interests within the physics world. In an interview, Patteson explained that there was evidence connecting vimentin and the uptake of viruses, but the mechanism through which this occurs is largely unknown. Patteson and her team are currently using SARS2 virus-like particles, along with molecular dynamics simulations, to try to connect the molecular interactions of vimentin and host cells. Her team is also assessing whether or not introducing anti-vimentin antibodies will block the uptake of the virus. Patteson’s research is just one part of the initiative to understand more about the physics and mechanisms through which the Covid-19 virus acts so that scientists can find tools to potentially prevent cellular uptake of the virus.

Sources: 

• https://www.syracuse.edu/stories/physics-fight-against-covid-19/

• https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2032861&HistoricalAwards=false

• https://thecollege.syr.edu/people/faculty/patteson-alison/