Viral Integration
Sam Chow, Ph.D. obtained his B.S. in pharmacy from the Idaho State University and his Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Iowa. His postdoctoral work was completed with Dr. Charles Radding at the Yale University, and with Dr. Patrick Brown at the Stanford University. Dr. Chow joined the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine
in 1994 and is currently the Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology. Dr. Chow's laboratory studies the molecular mechanism of integration of a viral genome into its host cell's DNA, a process essential for replication of HIV and other retroviruses. Retroviral integration is mediated by the viral protein integrase. The current focus of his laboratory includes understanding the biochemistry of integration, determining the functional interaction between integrase and reverse transcriptase during HIV replication, uncoating of viral core particles, nuclear import of viral complexes, and developing novel retroviral vectors for delivering exogenous DNA into specific target sites. Dr. Chow is also studying a newly discovered human retrovirus, XMRV, and its role in tumorigenesis and other human diseases.