The Kroon Campos lab studies virus-host interactions, focusing on emerging arboviruses and other ssRNA+ viruses. 

Zoonotic arboviruses pose growing global health threats, amplified by trends in urbanization, international travel, and climate change-driven shifts in mosquito populations. These viruses can cause a range of symptoms, from fever and muscle pain to severe encephalitis and chronic joint pain. We aim to elucidate viral emergence mechanisms, identify host factors influencing viral replication and transmission, and improve our understanding of viral RNA and host RNA interactions. This will ultimately enhance preparedness and response to epidemics and pandemics. Our research uses in vivo infection models, RNA biology, and cell biology to improve the knowledge of how these viruses interact with host cells and to develop strategies for epidemic and pandemic preparedness. 

1.Mechanisms of Viral Emergence

Zoonotic mosquito-borne viruses often adapt to urban mosquitoes like Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, leading to widespread outbreaks. While many of these viruses are mainly transmitted by sylvatic mosquitoes in enzootic cycles, they can also adapt to urban mosquito vectors. Our research focuses on how adaptive mutations and host interactions contribute to the emergence and reemergence of these viruses, aiming to improve prediction, surveillance, and response.

2.Host Restriction Factors and Host Pro-Viral Factors

Our lab studies how zoonotic mosquito-borne viruses replicate in mosquito and vertebrate host cells. Viruses and their hosts have co-evolved over long periods, and by understanding how viruses use cellular machinery for replication, we can gain insights into both viral and host cell functions. This knowledge helps us develop new tools for prevention and treatment. Need to add more to this paragraph

3.RNA Biology of ssRNA+ Viruses and Host Cells

RNA is crucial in many cellular processes, including serving as a template for protein translation. Viral and host RNAs play important roles in the lifecycle of ssRNA+ viruses, affecting their replication and transmission. Our lab is focuses on exploring the functions of viral and cellular RNAs during infection. We aim to understand how these RNAs are translated, how viral RNA interacts with, and hijacks host cellular machinery, and the broader impact of these interactions on viral transmission. This research could lead to new antiviral strategies that target specific RNA processes critical for viral replication and transmission.

• PhD - Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Duke University, NC, USA (Advisors: Mariano Garcia-Blanco and Shelton Bradrick)
• MS - Microbiology, UFMG, Brazil
• BS/BEd - Biology, PUC-MG, Brazil

Dr. Rafael Kroon Campos is an Assistant Professor of Virology in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University. His research centers on emerging and reemerging zoonotic mosquito-borne viruses, which present an increasing global health threat. He completed his B.S./B.Ed. in Biology at Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais (PUC-MG) and his M.S. in Microbiology at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) under the mentoring of Dr. Jonatas Santos Abrahão in Brazil before immigrating to the USA. He then earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Duke University, advised by Drs. Mariano Garcia-Blanco and Shelton Bradrick. Following his Ph.D., Dr. Kroon Campos did his postdoctoral training at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) with Drs. Shannan Rossi and Scott Weaver, and received the McLaughlin Postdoctoral Fellowship. More recently, he secured a K99/R00 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) that will fund him to further his research on mosquito-borne viruses at Cornell University. 

Complete list of publications

 

• Member, American Society for Virology
• Member, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (American Committee on Arthropod-Borne Viruses and Zoonotic Viruses)