David Merritt, B. S., Biology
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Ph.D. Student in Immunology
E-mail: david.merritt@tufts.edu

In order for EBV to pass in and out between saliva and the nasopharyngeal lymphoid tissue the virus needs to cross an epithelial barrier. The existence of several EBV infected carcinomas, especially of the nasopharynx, provides support for the idea that infection of epithelial cells may be a normal part of the biology of the virus. Specifically EBV may cross the epithelial barrier by infection on one side, replication and release on the other side. We are using novel culture techniques to grow and identify EBV infected cells from the epithelium of the nasopharynx. EBV is found in all undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinomas, an extremely common tumor in Chinese people, yet little is know about the molecular deregulation that causes NPC. To gain insights into candidate genes we are screening NPC specific RNA libraries from more than 20 independent biopsies using "chip" technology to look for consistent genetic alteration associated with NPC.