Murali Bagalur Muniraju, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Immuno-Oncology
Research Area
Understanding the Herpesvirus Viral and Host Protein-protein Interactions
Development of Prophylactic and Therapeutic Vaccines for Oncogenic Herpesvirus-associated Cancers
Research Teams
Dr. Muniraju earned his Ph.D. from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. His experience and research interests span the fields of molecular biology and the immunobiology of infectious viruses. Dr. Muniraju joined Dr. Ogembo’s laboratory in 2017 to study Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, an etiological agent of AIDS-related cancerous malignancies (e.g., Kaposi sarcoma) and two types of B-cell lymphomas. His ultimate goal is to design novel strategies to develop effective treatments for Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus -associated diseases by providing a comprehensive understanding of virus-host interactions in the immune system.
Duarte - Main Campus
1500 East Duarte Road
Duarte, CA 91010
Duarte, CA 91010
2016, Ph.D., Biological Sciences (Virology), University of Warwick, United Kingdom
2008, M.Sc., Biotechnology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, India
2005, - B.Sc., Agricultural Sciences, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India
2018-present, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Immuno-Oncology, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
2017 – 2018, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Experimental Therapeutics, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA
2009 – 2010, Research Associate, Department of Nematology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India
2008 – 2009, Research Associate, FMDV Research Center, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bengaluru, India
2012-present, The Microbiology Society, United Kingdom
- Muniraju M, Mutsvunguma LZ, Foley J, Escalante GM, Rodriguez E, Nabiee R, Totonchy J, Mulama DH, Nyagol J, Wussow F, Barasa AK, Brehm M, Ogembo JG. Kaposi Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Glycoprotein H Is Indispensable for Infection of Epithelial, Endothelial, and Fibroblast Cell Types. J Virol. 2019 Jul 30;93(16):e00630-19. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00630-19. PMID: 31142670 PMCID: PMC6675886.
- Mulama DH, Mutsvunguma LZ, Totonchy J, Ye P, Foley J, Escalante GM, Rodriguez E, Nabiee R, Muniraju M, Wussow F, Barasa AK, Ogembo JG. A multivalent Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus-like particle vaccine capable of eliciting high titers of neutralizing antibodies in immunized rabbits. Vaccine. 2019 Jul 9;37(30):4184-4194. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.04.071. Epub 2019 Jun 11. PMID: 31201053 PMCID: PMC6876619.
- Mutsvunguma LZ, Rodriguez E, Escalante GM, Muniraju M, Williams JC, Warden C, Qin H, Wang J, Wu X, Barasa A, Mulama DH, Mwangi W, Ogembo JG. Identification of multiple potent neutralizing and non-neutralizing antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus gp350 protein with potential for clinical application and as reagents for mapping immunodominant epitopes. Virology. 2019 Oct;536:1-15. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2019.07.026. Epub 2019 Jul 30. PMID: 31377598. PMCID: PMC6733660.
- Escalante GM, Foley J, Mutsvunguma LZ, Rodriguez E, Mulama DH, Muniraju M, Ye P, Barasa AK, Ogembo JG. A Pentavalent Epstein-Barr Virus-Like Particle Vaccine Elicits High Titers of Neutralizing Antibodies against Epstein-Barr Virus Infection in Immunized Rabbits. Vaccines (Basel). 2020 Apr 6;8(2):E169. doi: 10.3390/vaccines8020169. PMID: 32268575.
- Muniraju M, Mahapatra M, Buczkowski H, Batten C, Banyard AC, Parida S. Rescue of a vaccine strain of peste des petits ruminants virus: In vivo evaluation and comparison with standard vaccine. Vaccine. 2015 Jan 9;33(3):465-71. PMCID: PMC4315076.
Muniraju M, Munir M, Parthiban AR, Banyard AC, Bao J, Wang Z, et al. Molecular evolution of peste des petits ruminants virus. Emerg Infect Dis. 2014 Dec;20(12):2023-33. PMCID: PMC4257836. - Muniraju M, Mahapatra M, Ayelet G, Babu A, Olivier G, Munir M, et al. Emergence of Lineage IV Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus in Ethiopia: Complete Genome Sequence of an Ethiopian Isolate 2010. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2016 Aug;63(4):435-42. PMID: 25400010.
- Muniraju M, El Harrak M, Bao J, Ramasamy Parthiban AB, Banyard AC, Batten C, et al. Complete Genome Sequence of a Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus Recovered from an Alpine Goat during an Outbreak in Morocco in 2008. Genome Announc. 2013 May 9;1(3). PMCID: PMC3650429.
- Muniraju M, Munir M, Banyard AC, Ayebazibwe C, Wensman J, Zohari S, et al. Complete Genome Sequences of Lineage III Peste des Petits Ruminants Viruses from the Middle East and East Africa. Genome Announc. 2014 Oct 23;2(5). PMCID: PMC4208319.
- Buczkowski H, Muniraju M, Parida S, Banyard AC. Morbillivirus vaccines: recent successes and future hopes. Vaccine. 2014 May 30;32(26):3155-61. PMID: 24703852. PMCID: PMC7115685
- Parida S, Muniraju M, Mahapatra M, Muthuchelvan D, Buczkowski H, Banyard AC. Peste des petits ruminants. Vet Microbiol. 2015 Dec 14;181(1-2):90-106. PMCID: PMC4655833.
- Parida S, Muniraju M, Altan E, Baazizi R, Raj GD, Mahapatra M. Emergence of PPR and its threat to Europe. Small Rumin Res. 2016 Sep;142:16-21. PMCID: PMC5035059.
- Mahapatra M, Sayalel K, Muniraju M, Eblate E, Fyumagwa R, Shilinde L, et al. Spillover of Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus from Domestic to Wild Ruminants in the Serengeti Ecosystem, Tanzania. Emerg Infect Dis. 2015 Dec;21(12):2230-4. PMCID: PMC4672450.
- Abubakar M, Mahapatra M, Muniraju M, Arshed MJ, Khan EH, Banyard AC, et al. Serological Detection of Antibodies to Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus in Large Ruminants. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2017 Apr;64(2):513-9. PMCID: PMC5347956.
- Kumar KS, Babu A, Sundarapandian G, Roy P, Thangavelu A, Kumar KS, Arumugam R, Chandran ND, Muniraju M, et al. Molecular characterisation of lineage IV peste des petits ruminants virus using multi gene sequence data. Vet Microbiol. 2014 Nov 7;174(1-2):39-49. PMID: 25248690.
- Murali BM, Mahato U, Bhat G, Bhat S, Kuruvinashetti MS. Expression and antifungal activity of Trichoderma virens ech42 in tobacco. 2009. J Mycol Pl Pathol 39(3):367-373.