Research

My long-term research interest is to explore the mechanisms of the establishment, maintenance, and reactivation of human herpesvirus from latent infection, and develop anti-viral drugs for treating virus-associated cancers. In the past several years, my research focused on the mechanisms of viral latency and its associated diseases. The previous works revealed how viral antigens regulated cellular proteins to control virus infection or cellular reprogramming leading to tumorigenesis. Now I’m developing a promising small molecular inhibitor, which will be the potential therapeutic drug to specifically treat tumor virus-associated lymphomas.

Teaching

MED 227 Introduction to Modern Virology

MED5045 Medical Virology

Publications

From 2022:

1. Pei Y#, Chen J. 2025. Current progress for targeting human cytomegalovirus infection. iLABMED. https://doi.org/10.1002/ila2.70026

2. Zhang Y, Xiao G, Ding H, Zou Q, Gu D, Wen J, Pei Y, Guo R, Wang W, Zhou X.2025.Direct sensing of host ferric iron by an archetype histidine kinase mediates virulence of an enteric pathogen. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (23) e2507874122, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2507874122.

3. Wang Y*, Yu J*, Pei Y#. 2024. Identifying the key regulators orchestrating Epstein-Barr virus reactivation. Frontiers in microbiology 15:1505191. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1505191

4. Yu J, Wang Y, Wang H, Wei Z, Pei Y#. 2024. Decoding critical targets and signaling pathways in EBV-mediated diseases using large language models. Viruses 16(11): 1660, doi.org/10.3390/v16111660

5. Sun K, Bose D, Singh RK, Pei Y, Robertson ES. 2024. The F-box E3 ligase protein FBXO11 regulates EBNA3C-associated degradation of BCL6. J Virol 98(7): e0054824.

6. Bose D, Lin X, Gao L, Wei Z, Pei Y, Robertson ES. 2023. Attenuation of IFN signaling due to m6A modification of the host epitranscriptome promotes EBV lytic reactivation. J Biomed Sci. 30(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s12929-023-00911-9.

7. Pei Y, Robertson ES. 2022. The central roles of ubiquitin-proteasome system in EBV-mediated oncogenesis. Cancers 14(3):611, doi:10.3390/cancers14030611.

8. Ma N, Lu J, Pei Y, Robertson ES. 2022. Transcriptome reprogramming of Epstein-Barr virus infected epithelial and B cells reveals distinct host-virus interaction profiles. Cell Death Dis. 13(10):894, doi: 10.1038/s41419-022-05327-1.

Before 2021:

9. Singh RK, Pei Y, Lamplugh ZL, Sun K, Yuan Y, Lieberman PM, You J, Robertson ES. 2021. KSHV-encoded vCyclin can modulate HIF1α levels to promote DNA replication in hypoxia. eLife, 10, e57436.

10. Pei Y, Robertson ES. 2020. The crosstalk of epigenetics and metabolism in herpesvirus infection. Viruses. 2020, 12, 1377.

11. Pei Y, Hwang N, Lang F, Zhou L, Wong JH-y, Singh RK, Jha HC, El-Deiry WS, Du Y, Robertson ES. 2020. Quassinoid analogs with enhanced efficacy for treatment of hematologic malignancies target the PI3Kγ isoform. Communications Biology 3:267.

12. Pei Y, Wong JH-y, Jha H, Tian T, Wei Z, Robertson ES. 2020. Epstein-Barr Virus facilitates expression of KLF14 by regulating the cooperative binding of E2F-Rb-HDAC complex in latent infection. J Virol doi:10.1128/JVI.01209-20.

13. Pei Y, Wong JH-y, Robertson ES. 2020. Herpesvirus epigenetic reprogramming and oncogenesis. Annual Review of Virology, 7, 309-331, doi:10.1146/annurev-virology-020420-014025.

14. Pei Y, Wong JH-y, Robertson ES. 2020. Targeted therapies for Epstein-Barr Virus-associated lymphomas. Cancers 12(9):2565, doi:10.3390/cancers12092565.

15. Hwang N*, Pei Y*, Clement J, Robertson ES, Du Y. 2020. Identification of a 3-β-homoalanine Conjugate of Brusatol with Reduced Toxicity in Mice. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 30, 127553, doi:10.1016/j.bmcl.2020.127553. (*Contributed equally)

16. Pei Y, Singh RK, Shukla SK, Lang F, Zhang S, Robertson ES. 2018. Epstein–Barr Virus nuclear antigen 3C facilitates cell proliferation by regulating Cyclin D2. J Virol doi:10.1128/JVI.00663-18.

17. Pei Y, Banerjee S, Jha HC, Sun Z, Robertson ES. 2017. An essential EBV latent antigen 3C binds Bcl6 for targeted degradation and cell proliferation. PLoS Pathog 13: e1006500.

18. Pei Y*, Banerjee S*, Sun Z, Jha HC, Saha A, Robertson ES. 2016. EBV Nuclear Antigen 3C Mediates Regulation of E2F6 to Inhibit E2F1 Transcription and Promote Cell Proliferation. PLoS Pathog 12:e1005844. (*Contributed equally)

19. Pei Y*, Fu W*, Yang E*, Shen A, Chen YC, Gong H, Chen J, Huang J, Xiao G, Liu F. 2012. A Hsp40 chaperone protein interacts with and modulates the cellular distribution of the primase protein of human cytomegalovirus. PLoS Pathog 8:e1002968. (*Contributed equally)

20. Crocker KE, Pei Y, Robertson ES, Winkler J. 2020. Synthesis of a Novel Bruceantin Analog via Intramolecular Etherification. Canadian Journal of Chemistry doi:10.1139/cjc-2019-0437.

21. Zhang S, Pei Y, Lang F, Sun K, Singh RK, Lamplugh ZL, Saha A, Robertson ES. 2019. EBNA3C facilitates RASSF1A downregulation through ubiquitin-mediated degradation and promoter hypermethylation to drive B-cell proliferation. PLoS Pathog 15(1): e1007514.

22. Lang F, Singh RK, Pei Y, Zhang S, Sun K, Robertson ES. 2019. EBV epitranscriptome reprogramming by METTL14 is critical for viral-associated tumorigenesis. PLoS Pathog 15(6): e1007796.

23. Singh RK, Lang F, Pei Y, Jha HC, Robertson ES. 2018. Metabolic reprogramming of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpes virus-infected B-cells in hypoxia. PLoS Pathog 14: e1007062.

24. Lang F, Sun ZG, Pei Y, Singh RK, Jha HC, Robertson ES. 2018. Shugoshin 1 is dislocated by KSHV-encoded LANA inducing aneuploidy. PLoS Pathog 14:e1007253.

25. Jha H, Pei Y, Robertson E. 2016. Epstein Barr virus: Diseases linked to Infection and Transformation. Frontiers in microbiology 7:1602.

26. Sun Z, Jha HC, Pei Y, Robertson ES. 2016. Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II HLA-DRalpha Is Downregulated by Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus-Encoded Lytic Transactivator RTA and MARCH8. J Virol 90:8047-8058.

27. Shen A, Lei J, Yang E, Pei Y, Chen YC, Gong H, Xiao G, and Liu F. 2011. Human cytomegalovirus primase UL70 specifically interacts with cellular factor Snapin. J Virol 85:11732-11741.