The Quantitative Virology and Evolution Unit focuses on understanding the dynamic and heterogenous processes of RNA virus infection and evolution. We characterize virus evolution and host-virus interactions across spatial and temporal scales using experimental tools, including high-resolution sequencing and live-cell microscopy, along with computational phylogenetic and bioinformatic tools. Projects in the lab include single-cell and single-genome sequencing of within-host virus evolution and host responses, phylogenetic reconstruction and evolutionary biochemistry in emerging RNA viruses, and design and analysis of mutational and functional genetic screens.
Patrick T. Dolan, Ph.D.
Unit Chief, Quantitative Virology and Evolution Unit
Earl Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator
Education:
Ph.D., 2014, Virology/Computational Systems Biology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
B.S., 2007, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Nathânia Dábilla, Ph.D.
Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow
Education:
Ph.D., 2021, Microbiology and Virology, Federal University of Goiás, Goiás, Brazil
M.S., 2016, Microbiology and Virology, Federal University of Goiás, Goiás, Brazil
B.S., 2013, Biomedical Sciences, College União de Goyazes, Goiás, Brazil
Languages Spoken: Portuguese
During my Master’s and Ph.D. training, I worked mainly with the molecular epidemiology of norovirus with samples collected from children and immunocompromised patients (2014-2021). During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked in a multi-center collaboration to perform the evolutionary and epidemiological track of the SARS-CoV-2 variants in Goias, Brazil. In January 2022, I began my postdoctoral...
Jack T. Dorman, B.S.
Predoctoral Fellow (NIH-JHU)
Education:
B.S., 2022, Microbiology and Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
I investigate the evolution of flaviviruses, focusing on dengue and West Nile viruses. I combine computational approaches like ancestral reconstruction and protein modeling with experimental techniques such as deep mutational scanning and noninfectious reporter assays. I seek to identify how the structural proteins of these viruses navigated selection over the course of the recent decades and...
Elysse Grossi-Soyster, Ph.D.
Rocky Mountain Laboratory-Bethesda Postdoctoral Fellow
Education:
Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from Stanford University School of Medicine, 2025
M.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology, from California State University, East Bay, 2011
B.S. in Health Sciences from California State University, East Bay, 2008
A.S. in Biology from Cañada College, 2005
Languages Spoken: Italian, Spanish
Elysse earned a Ph.D. in 2025 from the Microbiology and Immunology Department at the Stanford University School of Medicine. During their Ph.D., Elysse characterized novel circular RNA molecules expressed by SARS-CoV-2 and investigated their contributions to pathogenesis under the co-mentorship of Dr. Peter Sarnow and Dr. David Schneider. In September of 2025, Elysse began their postdoctoral...
Michelle Law, M.D., Ph.D.
Visiting Fellow
Education:
Ph.D., 2024, Virology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
MBBS, 2017, Medicine, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, United Kingdom
Languages Spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese
Michelle is a visiting postdoctoral fellow in the Quantitative Virology and Evolution Unit led by Dr. Patrick Dolan. Her research interests are in positive-sense RNA virus replication complexes and their role in virus evolution.
Lauren McCormick, B.S.
Predoctoral Fellow
Education:
B.S., 2021, Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Lauren is investigating the diversity and evolution of enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) T-cell epitopes throughout the natural history of the virus to assess the role that T-cell immune escape has played in its evolutionary trajectory. By advancing our understanding of the identity, evolutionary trajectory, and evolvability of EV-A71 T-cell epitopes, Lauren hopes to provide insights that will inform the...
Oscar Ojeda, Jr.
Postbaccalaureate IRTA fellow
Languages Spoken: Spanish
I am a recent graduate of Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), where I studied biomedicine with a specialization in Microbiology. During my undergraduate studies, my work focused on the phenotypic and bioinformatic analysis of enhancer-binding proteins (EBPs) in Azospirillum baldaniorum Sp245. After graduating, I had the opportunity to join the Dolan Lab as a postbaccalaureate fellow...
Walker Symonds-Orr, B.S.
University of Maryland Ph.D. Student
Education:
B.S., 2020, Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA
Former Research Group Members
- William Bakhache, Ph.D.
- James Bruns, B.S.
- B. Adam Catching, Ph.D.
- Christine Anastacia Mariskanish, B.S.