Greater Chicago Area
I am a cellular immunologist and molecular biologist with ~10 years of experience utilizing nonhuman primate (NHP) models to characterize immune mechanisms underlying viral pathogenesis and disease progression. My work integrates high-dimensional multiplex immunofluorescence (IBEX), primary cell culture, molecular virology, next-generation sequencing approaches, and Python- and R-based analysis workflows to gain mechanistic insight across single-cell and tissue-level immune responses. I currently lead the development of a novel African Green Monkey (AGM) simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) transmission model with our international collaborators. Our innovative translational model closely recapitulates human mucosal transmission, providing unparalleled insight into immune mechanisms underlying viral infection and reservoir establishment. I additionally lead the adoption of a multiplexed immunofluorescence microscopy system (IBEX) to gain single-cell insights into drug- and infection-induced perturbations tissue microenvironments in nonhuman primate tissues. I have extensive experience in NHP tissue processing, viral engineering, sequencing assay development, and cross-functional collaboration, with a passion for translational immunology, pharmacodynamic endpoint development, and bridging preclinical models to experimental medicine. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7100-1906 NCBI Bibliography: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/ryan.moriarty.1/bibliography/public/ IBEX Community: https://ibeximagingcommunity.github.io/ibex_imaging_knowledge_base/
- Lead design and development of a novel African Green Monkey (AGM) model of SIV transmission and identification of correlates of protection from SHIV challenges - Engineer and characterize novel chimeric AGM-specific SHIV constructs, develop qPCR-based viral quantification, and optimize viral expansion workflows for in vivo NHP studies - Establish and implement multiplex spatial imaging and quantitative analysis pipelines to evaluate immune microenvironments and cellular senescence mechanisms relevant to tissue-resident immune persistence and immune evasion biology in NHP. - Utilize in vitro cell models and RNASeq to probe drug- and infection-induced perturbations in transcriptional pathways contributing to cellular senescence. - Integrate spatial, cellular, and transcriptomic data with Python- and R-based analysis workflows to evaluate spatial relationships in NHP tissues and contribute to grant and manuscript preparation.
- Investigated T cell dysfunction, immune exhaustion, and immune escape in NHP models of SIV and SIV/Mtb coinfection using molecularly barcoded pathogens and Illumina NGS - Built custom R and Python analysis pipelines to characterize viral and bacterial populations in longitudinal in vivo NHP studies to inform mechanistic host immune responses - Disseminate research through conference presentations and contributed to eight peer-reviewed publications (two first author) and NIH-funded proposals - Mentored junior researchers and coordinated experimental execution, resulting in multiple independent projects and conference presentations.
- Designed a high-throughput capillary electrophoresis protocol for recombinant protein QC, increasing throughput and significantly reducing cost. - Developed a data analysis pipeline to efficiently and reproducibly report concentration and protein purity data to clients - Prepared a cost-benefit analysis for the onboarding and implementation of this new protein characterization protocol
- Developed, optimized, and applied an SIV multiplex PCR protocol for whole-genome sequencing of low viral load samples; implemented an Mtb barcode sequencing protocol refined data analysis pipelines - Communicated with academic and industry clients, prepared budgets, and delivered sequencing reports - Collaborated with grant teams as well as internal and external colleagues to generate genomics data for NIH proposals and publications
- Utilized wet lab techniques, including eukaryotic cell culture, genomic and mitochondrial DNA isolation, yeast transformation and hybridization, PCR, flow cytometry, Sanger Sequencing - Gathered and analyzed high-throughput growth analyses and HPLC data to identify artificial yeast hybrids with enhanced growth performance and sugar consumption of interest to brewing and biofuel industries - Generated hundreds of interspecies Saccharomyces yeast hybrids, including the first 6-species hybrid - Developed mitochondria-deficient yeast strains to determine the importance of mitochondrial DNA in cold tolerance of lager yeasts