The National Institutes of Health granted an IU professor $2.3 million for the research of the Dengue virus in September.
Kay Choi, a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, has been researching the virus since 2010. She began her research as an associate professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Her research is centered around finding innovative ways to prevent the spread of Dengue, the RNA virus.
Dengue virus is a part of the same RNA virus family as the West Nile virus. “The amazing thing about the virus is that is has a small number of proteins and it can kill you,” Choi said.
While the Dengue virus rarely results in death, most people who have the virus show mild symptoms and get better within two weeks, according to a World Health Organization fact sheet. The virus is transmitted to humans through mosquitos.
Public health authorities in Puerto Rico declared a Dengue virus outbreak in March, while cases have also been reported in Florida and California, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Puerto Rico reported 3,864 Dengue virus cases in 2024.
“RNA viruses usually have more proteins,” Choi said. “The largest RNA virus is COVID-19.”
She said the number of proteins in an RNA virus typically correlates with the likelihood of the virus spreading, because a higher protein count means the disease relies less on the host of the infection. Viruses use host proteins, Choi said, so they can perform required functions.
The $2.3 million RO1 grant is the third grant Choi has received from the NIH. She said the NIH looks at several things when considering grant applications, including the significance of the research, the relation to human health, the feasibility of the research and the method of approach.
In the last five years, Choi was the first scientist to determine the structure of the RNA for the Dengue and Zika viruses. She said it was a notable achievement because it is hard to use regular scientific methods to figure out RNA structures.
Choi hopes to figure out how the Dengue virus spreads and ways to combat the health effects the disease has on humans.
“Because this RNA is essential for replication,” Choi said in a press release Sept. 23, “if we do know the RNA structure and how they interact, then we can design a molecule that prevents the interaction and thus viral infection.”
