The 20th Anniversary Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Virology Association
Joel Rovnak,
Laura A. St Clair,
Carley McAlister,
Chinemerem P. Ogbu,
Jessica Smolenske,
Randall J. Cohrs,
Rushika Perera
Affiliations
Joel Rovnak
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Laura A. St Clair
Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Carley McAlister
Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Chinemerem P. Ogbu
Department of Biochemistry and Nebraska Center for Virology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA
Jessica Smolenske
Mountain Campus Program Support, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Randall J. Cohrs
Departments of Neurology and Immunology/Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
Rushika Perera
Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple devastating forest fires, the 2020 meeting of the Rocky Mountain Virology Association was held virtually. The three-day gathering featured talks describing recent advances in virology and prion research. The keynote presentation described the measles virus paradox of immune suppression and life-long immunity. Special invited speakers presented information concerning visualizing antiviral effector cell biology in mucosal tissues, uncovering the T-cell tropism of Epstein-Barr virus type 2, a history and current survey of coronavirus spike proteins, a summary of Zika virus vaccination and immunity, the innate immune response to flavivirus infections, a discussion concerning prion disease as it relates to multiple system atrophy, and clues for discussing virology with the non-virologist. On behalf of the Rocky Mountain Virology Association, this report summarizes selected presentations.
