معرفی
Peter Nagy is a Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Kentucky's Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. His research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of RNA virus replication and recombination using Tombusviruses as model systems. With over two decades of experience at the University of Kentucky, having served as Assistant Professor (1999-2003), Associate Professor (2003-2007), and Professor (2007-present), Dr. Nagy has established himself as a leading researcher in plant virology.
Dr. Nagy's educational background includes a Ph.D. in Plant Protection from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Plant Protection, Budapest (1990) and a B.Sc. and M.S. in Plant Protection from the Agricultural University of Keszthely, Hungary (1985). His postdoctoral training included positions at the University of Bari, Italy (1990), Northern Illinois University (1990-1995), and the University of Massachusetts (1996-1998).
His research program centers on two main areas: virus replication and virus recombination. Using Tombusviruses as model RNA viruses of plants, his lab identifies viral and host players involved in replication mechanisms. His work on virus recombination seeks to understand the evolutionary mechanisms that allow viruses to change dramatically, potentially leading to new viral strains that can evade host defenses. Dr. Nagy has developed innovative approaches including yeast model systems and cell-free replication assays to study virus-host interactions at the molecular level. His research has revealed how RNA viruses co-opt host cellular machinery, particularly in areas of energy metabolism, lipid biosynthesis, and membrane remodeling during viral replication.
Dr. Nagy's laboratory has conducted comprehensive genome-wide screens that have identified approximately 500 host genes affecting Tombusvirus replication, making it one of the best-characterized virus-host systems. His team has also discovered approximately 70 cell-intrinsic restriction factors that inhibit viral replication, opening new avenues for antiviral strategies.
- Prestigious Paper Award, UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, 2016
- Bobby Pass Excellence in Grantmanship Award, 2013
- Smith fellow lecturer, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 2011
- Breakthrough paper on virus replication selected for "SPOTLIGHT" by Journal of Virology, 2009
Dr. Nagy teaches PPA 671: Advanced Plant Virology and mentors graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. His current laboratory team includes Wenwu Lin (Postdoctoral Scholar), Yuyan Liu (Graduate Research Assistant), Judit Pogany (Agriculture Research Specialist), Biao Sun (Postdoctoral Scholar), and Shifeng Zhu (Research Analyst). His research has resulted in over 100 publications in high-impact journals including PNAS, PLoS Pathogens, and Journal of Virology.
Dr. Nagy's laboratory maintains active collaborations worldwide and has developed the TBSV-yeast system as a powerful model for studying virus replication and host interactions. This work has implications that extend beyond plant viruses to inform our understanding of human and animal RNA viruses.
