Throughout the last decade, a number of different experimental and theoretical developments have changed how basic scientists are thinking and learning about – and, ultimately, understanding – the life cycles of viruses of all kinds.

A major driving force for this change is related to powerful new experimental techniques that allow viruses to be investigated under essentially single-particle conditions.  On the structural side, for example, tomographic cryoelectron microscopy allows imaging of single viruses under native conditions and reconstructions of them without assumptions of symmetry.  On the mechanistic side, single-molecule imaging and force measurements allow the direct determination of the dynamics and energetics of virus cell entry and exit – and genome packaging and release – on a single-particle basis.

Another major force underlying the emergence of “physical virology” as an exciting and important new interdisciplinary field comes from the fact that physical chemists and condensed-matter physicists have begun to exploit the connections between fundamental colloid and polymer science and the generic aspects of viral assembly and infectivity.  Examples include the calculation of capsid pressure in terms of stiff polyelectrolyte confinement, the exploration of kinetic pathways in capsid protein self-assembly via coarse-grained computer simulation, and the elucidation of basic physical differences between DNA and RNA.  Also, because viruses are Nature’s ultimate nanocontainers and gene delivery systems – rapidly evolving ever since life first began – their materials science and biotechnology applications have recently attracted a great deal of well-deserved attention.

This workshop will bring together biologists and physical scientists who are working on common virus-related problems from these complementary but overlapping points of view.  The participants come from departments of chemistry and physics as well as from departments of biology and medical schools.  Each 35-minute talk is followed by 15 minutes of discussion, in sessions organized around two speakers at a time, one biological and one physical.  While the virus topics represented are “open” and unrestricted, it is nevertheless hoped that the workshop will focus on a few basic themes including capsid assembly and structure, RNA genome packaging, and virus-induced reorganization of the host cell.

Workshop Themes:

o     Capsid assembly and structure

o     RNA genome packaging

o     Virus-induced reorganization of the host cell