BioScience: AI & Life Science in Disease Research

Diseases and Therapeutics from the Microscopic World

Summer 2025
The Center for Infectious Disease Research (CIDR) 
School of Systems Biology
Schar School of Policy and Government
George Mason University

Hybrid (primarily virtual, with optional in-person sessions at George Mason University Science & Tech Campus)

June 21 – September 6, 2025 (12 Weeks Total)

• Phase 1: Research & Learning (Weeks 1-7: Saturday, June 21 – Saturday, August 16)
  • June 21: Program Kickoff Session – Join us for an exciting opening session to start your research journey!
  • Virtual Meetings:
    • Synchronous Sessions (Live, TBA) – Connect with course directors and peers in interactive discussions.
    • Asynchronous Sessions (TBA) – Work on research projects at your own pace with guided materials.
    • Research Project Assignment: Students are required to select their preferred research projects in order of preference. Project assignments will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis by the course directors. 
       
• Phase 2: BioScience Conference Day (Week 8: Saturday, August 9)
  • In-Person Lab Experience & Research Presentation – Students will visit the university for a hands-on lab experience, insightful discussions, and the chance to present their research to peers and faculty.
  • Expert Evaluation & Awards – Scientists from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and faculty from the School of Systems Biology will review student presentations, awarding scholarships and recognizing top-performing teams.
  • Lunch Provided for in-person attendees.
  • Hybrid Option Available – Students may participate in person or virtually.
     
• Phase 3: Final Paper Refinement (Weeks 9-12: Saturday, August 10 – Saturday, September 6)
  • A dedicated four-week period to refine and finalize research papers.
  • This additional time allows students to strengthen their work, ensuring a well-developed, high-quality final paper.
  • Final Paper Submission Deadline: September 6.

• Please email execed@gmu.edu for application and program fees.
• Need-based scholarships are available.

Students who successfully finish the program will receive a Young Scholars Research Program Certificate of Completion, BioScience: AI & Life Science in Disease Research Conference Awards and Scholarships. 
 

Are you curious about the tiny world of viruses, bacteria, and the latest breakthroughs in medicine? Join our Young Scholars research program, Diseases and Therapeutics from the Microscopic World, where you’ll work alongside top scientists to explore cutting-edge topics in biomedical research! Led by renowned researchers Dr. Yuntao Wu, Dr. Monique van Hoek, Dr. Fatah Kashanchi, and Dr. Ramin Hakami, this program offers high school students a unique opportunity to engage in real-world scientific exploration.

Through hands-on learning and expert guidance, you’ll dive into fascinating research projects, such as understanding how viruses interact with human cells, developing new approaches to HIV treatment, and discovering innovative ways to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria. You’ll also learn how tiny particles called extracellular vesicles could be used to boost immunity and combat infections. Whether you're passionate about science or curious about careers in medicine and research, this program will provide you with valuable experience, mentorship, and inspiration.

Don't miss this exciting opportunity to be part of groundbreaking research and take your scientific curiosity to the next level! Apply today and start your journey into the microscopic world of diseases and therapeutics.

Engage High School Students in Advanced Biomedical Research

• Provide hands-on learning experiences in virology, immunology, and microbiology.
• Introduce students to cutting-edge research on infectious diseases, therapeutics, and extracellular vesicles.

Develop Critical Thinking and Scientific Inquiry Skills

• Foster analytical thinking through active participation in real-world research projects.
• Teach students how to interpret scientific data, conduct experiments, and evaluate biomedical literature.

Explore Innovative Approaches to Disease Treatment and Prevention

• Educate students on novel strategies for combating HIV, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and other infectious diseases.
• Discuss groundbreaking discoveries, such as extracellular vesicles’ role in immune response and therapeutic applications.

Encourage Collaboration with Leading Scientists

• Provide mentorship from experienced researchers from the Center for Infectious Disease Research and faculty from the School of Systems Biology.
• Offer networking opportunities to inspire future careers in science, medicine, and biotechnology.

Inspire the Next Generation of Biomedical Innovators

• Cultivate curiosity and passion for scientific discovery among high school students.
• Encourage students to consider careers in biomedical research, public health, and related fields.

Our Course Directors Dr. Yuntao Wu, Dr. Monique van Hoek, Dr. Fatah Kashanchi, and Dr. Ramin Hakami will lead students to work on the research projects, including but not limited to:

Research Project 1

Cross roads between viruses and extracellular vesicles: common pathways with distinctly different functions (Dr. Fatah Kashanchi). 

Kashanchi lab has studied the mechanisms of gene expression in human retroviruses and how these viruses and the host control the fundamental processes needed for viral replication and/or host survival. His lab has extensive experience elucidating the biochemical machinery that drives viral transcription and chromatin remodeling. In recent years, his lab also focused on developing humanized mouse models for both HIV-1 and HTLV-1 infection. Another area of his expertise lies in the area of Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) secreted from HIV-1 and HTLV-1 infected cells. His lab published the first seminal work on HIV-1 exosomes in 2013, showing the presence of non-coding viral RNA in exosomes eliciting an inflammatory response in uninfected recipient cells. Finally, in recent findings, the lab was able to distinguish which particles, EVs or viruses, can first come out of a cell (PMID: 33916140) and utilizing multiple methods, they have shown that viral particles are present as large, medium, and very small particles (PMID: 38978287).

Research Project 2

Use HIV to against HIV, a Trojan horse approach for a functional cure of HIV infection (Dr. Yuntao Wu)

HIV infection can progress to AIDS if left untreated, but current antiviral treatments known as antiretroviral therapy (ART) have made significant strides in managing the virus. ART typically targets key viral proteins, including reverse transcriptase, integrase, protease, Gag, and Env proteins. These drugs effectively reduce viral load and improve the quality of life for those living with HIV; however, they do not eliminate viral reservoirs in the body, leading to the need for lifelong treatment. In light of these challenges, Dr. Wu's laboratory is innovating a novel therapy that utilizes HIV-like pseudo-virus to stimulate the immune system, encouraging the body to self-manage and control HIV. This approach aims to harness the body's own defenses to potentially eliminate the virus more effectively than traditional ART. Dr. Wu will teach key principles of current HIV cure research, elucidating the scientific rationale. He will also address the various hurdles faced in achieving a functional cure for HIV, including issues related to viral persistence and immune evasion, as well as the potential benefits that new therapeutic strategies like his could offer. This could pave the way for bring us closer to a functional HIV cure.

George Mason University researchers lead breakthrough study to find functional cure for HIV

Research Project 3

Antimicrobial Resistant bacteria, AI-based development of GATR peptide (Dr. Monique van Hoek) 

GATR-3, a synthetic antimicrobial peptide derived from a cryptic alligator peptide, was demonstrated to show potent activity against multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, a dangerous bacterium that infects chronic, non-healing wounds. Dr. van Hoek will teach the application of AI-based protein structural modeling to design novel antimicrobial peptides.

Harnessing the Antimicrobial Properties of Komodo Dragon Blood video on YouTube

Research Project 4

Protection against infection by extracellular vesicles (Dr. Ramin M. Hakami)

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are packaged with various biomolecules and regularly released from cells. Dr. Hakami’s lab has shown that during either viral infection or bacterial infection, small EVs released from infected cells activate the innate immune response to protect those cells that have not been infected yet. Therefore, in effect, these EVs act as natural vaccines. Dr. Hakami’s lab has also identified the various molecular mechanisms that are responsible for this protection. Dr. Hakami will teach how EVs are generated by the cell and their general properties, with an emphasis on how they regulate the innate immune response. 

Final paper

The final paper will be published on the Schar School Young Scholars Journals Webpage as well as the George Mason University (GMU) Library MARS Repository. 

Dr. Fatah Kashanchi is a professor of virology and the director of the Laboratory of Molecular Virology. His research interests encompass human retroviruses, biodefense viral agents, the cell cycle, host-pathogen interactions, small molecule and peptide inhibitors against transcription machinery, RNAi machinery and its components, proteomics and metabolomics, humanized mouse models, and extracellular vesicles, including exosomes. Currently, his lab focuses on research related to extracellular vesicles and HIV pathogenesis, Ebola virus VP40 and exosomes, humanized mouse models, and inhibitors of transcription and associated pathways. Dr. Kashanchi received his PhD in Microbiology from the University of Kansas in 1991, with an emphasis on retrovirus gene expression. He worked with Dr. C. Wood on HIV-1 gene expression, who was a student of Nobel Laureate Dr. Tonegawa (1987), known for his work on B-cell development and gp120 ELISA. Afterward, Dr. Kashanchi moved to Washington, DC, to undertake a Postdoctoral and Research Associate fellowship at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, from 1991 to 1998. He achieved tenure at the George Washington University Medical School as a full professor in 2004. Subsequently, he became the director of research at GMU in 2010, a position he held until 2013. He is currently serving as the director of the Laboratory of Molecular Virology at the GMU-Sic-Tech campus.

Dr. Yuntao Wu is a professor and virologist with over 30 years of experience studying viruses. He specializes in molecular virology and immunology, with a particular focus on HIV/AIDS research, emphasizing virus-host interactions and antiviral innate immunity. Dr. Wu investigates HIV preintegration transcription (Science, 2001, 293:1503) and HIV-mediated chemokine receptor signaling, as well as the virus's interaction with the cell’s actin cytoskeleton. He has defined the specific role of the actin regulator cofilin in HIV infection and pathogenesis (Cell, 2008, 134:782; Science Advances, 2019, 5:eaat7911). Recently, his lab made significant discoveries regarding the antiviral mechanisms of PSGL-1 and the SHREK family of mucin-like host antiviral proteins (Nature Microbiology, 2019, 4:8132; PNAS, 2020, 117:9537; Viruses, 2021, 13: 832). Additionally, Dr. Wu's research team is developing a novel approach for a functional cure for HIV infection using an HIV-like pseudo-virus, the Rev-dependent vector (Gene Therapy, 2025, 32:16-24). His broader interests include studying virus-host interactions in human diseases such as virus-induced immune dysfunction, autoimmunity, and cancers. Dr. Wu serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Current HIV Research. He received his Ph.D. from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, followed by postdoctoral training at the NIH in Bethesda, MD.

Dr. Monique van Hoek is a professor of microbiology and infectious diseases and serves as the associated director of research at the School of Systems Biology. Her lab focuses on studying antibiotic-resistant and biothreat bacteria, particularly gram-negative bacteria. The van Hoek lab is involved in projects aimed at discovering and inventing antimicrobial peptides to combat multi-drug resistant ESKAPE pathogens, which are known to infect wounds, as well as various biothreat bacteria. In her research, Dr. van Hoek examines cell-to-cell communication and biofilm formation in these harmful bacteria, exploring innovative methods to disperse biofilms using peptides, DSF, and chitinase, along with strategies to regulate biofilm formation through quorum sensing via small molecules. Her lab is also investigating new antibacterial treatments, including peptide nucleic acids. Dr. van Hoek has identified powerful antimicrobial peptides that are naturally expressed by alligators, crocodiles, and Komodo dragons, and she continues to develop novel synthetic antimicrobial peptides for in vivo studies. In terms of biothreat bacteria, her research delves into the fundamental microbial physiology of Francisella tularensis, the agent responsible for tularemia. Additionally, she works on projects targeting Yersinia pestis, Burkholderia, and Bacillus anthracis, focusing on the potential of Nanotrap particles for the detection and study of these microorganisms. Dr. van Hoek earned her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

Dr. Ramin Hakami is an Associate Professor in the Center for Infectious Disease Research. His research focuses on how extracellular vesicles (EVs) regulate innate immunity and host responses to infections, with the goal of developing new therapeutics and vaccines. He specifically examines small EVs derived from infections caused by Yersinia pestis, Burkholderia pseudomallei, Rift Valley fever virus, and SARS-CoV-2. His work with EVs from Rift Valley fever virus-infected cells has shown that these vesicles activate anti-viral responses and reduce viral production, highlighting their protective role. Dr. Hakami also studies how EVs from Yersinia and Burkholderia infections influence immunity through their unique cargo. In collaboration with the Department of Bioengineering, he has developed a microfluidic platform for real-time monitoring of EVs. Using techniques such as protein microarrays and mass spectrometry, he analyzes how protein pathways modulate infections and regulate autophagy. Additionally, his lab investigates host proteins and collaborates on the development of novel vaccines and therapies, including an immunotherapeutic platform for bacterial infections that is moving toward investigational drug status. Dr. Hakami received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Professor Har Gobind Khorana at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He later received a NRSA fellowship from the NIH to complete his postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School (HMS). Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at GMU. The primary focus of his laboratory research is to understand the fundamental mechanisms by which vesicular trafficking within the host regulates innate immune responses during infections with pathogenic agents, particularly through the molecular mechanisms by which EVs influence innate immunity. The overarching goal of these studies is to identify new strategies for developing highly effective host-based countermeasures.