# Functional Convergence at the Host-Virus Interface > **NIH NIH K99** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2024 · $125,000 ## Abstract Project summary Viruses and the organisms they infect impose strong reciprocal selective pressure on each other. This is particularly pronounced at protein-protein interfaces between viruses and their hosts, such as in the case of antiviral proteins and the virus-encoded proteins that they target. Studying the biology of infection therefore provides insight into infectious disease as well as into the underlying mechanisms of protein evolution. Host- virus interactions have been extensively studied in mammals and to a lesser extent other vertebrates, yet protein-based immunity has been studied less in other metazoans. Studying protein-based immunity in divergent species will provide an important comparative point to better understand how antiviral proteins evolve. It additionally presents an opportunity to characterize unique ways by which other species combat viral infection, with potential implications for our own struggles with viral diseases. This Pathway to Independence proposal will support the development of a research program focused on the use of structural homology as a means of uncovering and studying independently evolved effector proteins, both in understudied, biodiverse species and in the viruses that infect them. Throughout the proposal, structural modeling is used to close the gap in our understanding of the structural and functional diversity present in the proteomes of model organisms and viruses and those that have been less studied. In Aim 1, I will perform extensive structural homology searches for viruses and diverse animals. The goals of these searches will be to 1) define patterns of gene capture in diverse viruses, with focus on unique domain organizations, and 2) define structural homologs of antiviral proteins in diverse metazoans. Aim 2 investigates the apparent independent evolution of an antiviral zinc finger-containing protein in mollusks and vertebrates. This aim will provide insight into how domains adapt to serve unique functions. It integrates virological and biochemical approaches to understand the relationship between RNA binding properties and antiviral potential of proteins that include this domain. Aim 3 involves the use of yeast as a heterologous system to study the functional plasticity of antiviral EIF2a kinases and virus-encoded proteins that inhibit them. This aim will provide insight into the rules of pathogen sensing by kinases and expand the study of translational shutoff during viral infection beyond vertebrates and model organisms. Aims 2 and 3 of this proposal will establish a foundation for the future study of other independently evolved effector proteins, such as those found in the searches proposed in Aim 1. This proposal will provide me with extensive training to attain my career goals. I already have robust experience in molecular biology and virology techniques, as well as a developing skillset in computational biology. By completing the Aims of this proposal, I will learn new techniques in... ## Key facts - **NIH application ID:** 10937892 - **Project number:** 1K99GM155323-01 - **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH - **Principal Investigator:** Ian Boys - **Activity code:** K99 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.) - **Funding institute:** NIH - **Fiscal year:** 2024 - **Award amount:** $125,000 - **Award type:** 1 - **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2026-08-31 ## Primary source NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10937892 ## Citation > US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10937892, Functional Convergence at the Host-Virus Interface (1K99GM155323-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10937892. Licensed CC0. --- *[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*