The goal of the Kovari Group is to understand the pathology of HIV by exploring the molecular mechanisms of resistance to FDA approved inhibitors. Our laboratory specializes in the structural and biological analysis of proteins using structure-function studies to investigate pharmacological drug targets against HIV-1 and Hepatitis C viruses. Our areas of expertise include biochemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology, and structural biology. Project protocols involve protein expression and purification, crystallization, structure determination, Inhibitor IC50 and Ki measurements, protein stability, molecular dynamics and ligand binding measurements.

X-ray crystallography is performed by the Life Sciences Collaborative Life Access Team (LS-CAT) at the Advanced Photon Source Synchrotron at Argonne National Laboratory. The data are used for molecular modeling and structural analysis. Our mission is to elucidate the mechanisms of viral drug resistance and contribute to the next generation of inhibitors. Our current projects involve Hepatitis C NS3 protease, HIV-1 integrase, multi-drug resistant HIV-1 protease, and Myelin Protein Zero.