Daved Fremont, PhD

Division

• Immunobiology

Additional Titles

• Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
• Professor, Molecular Microbiology

Research Interests

Our research group is focused on understanding surveillance processes of the immune system, and the sabotage mechanisms used by pathogens to evade detection and host-mediated elimination. We use the techniques of protein biochemistry, x-ray crystallography and computational biology to determine the three-dimensional structures of proteins and investigate their macromolecular interactions. Current interests of the lab include proteins associated with classical MHC antigen processing and presentation pathways, non-classical MHC family members and natural killer cell activating and inhibitory receptors. We are also actively studying a number of virally encoded proteins that enable host immune evasion. Large-DNA viruses (i.e. herpesviruses and poxviruses) have evolved a myriad of strategies that include the sabotage of antigen processing, the molecular mimicry of host signaling molecules and the sequestration of cytokines and chemokines by novel decoy receptors. Our approach to investigate these systems is based on the production of large quantities of soluble protein in heterologous expression systems, allowing for cognate ligand/ receptor discovery, biophysical interaction analyses, high-resolution structure determinations and targeted functional studies. Together, these approaches provide a wealth of information on the basic tools with which the immune system operates.

Service to the University

1999 – Present	Lecturer in Foundations in Immunology, Protein Structure and Function, Protein Crystallography, and Molecular Cell Biology
1998 – Present	Member, Molecular Biophysics Graduate Program Steering Committee

DBBS Graduate Program Affiliation

• Member, Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences Admissions Committee

Selected Publications

PubMed Search

Errico, J. M., Zhao, H., Chen, R. E., Liu, Z., Case, J. B., Ma, M., Schmitz, A. J., Rau, M. J., Fitzpatrick, J., Shi, P. Y., Diamond, M. S., Whelan, S., Ellebedy, A. H., & Fremont, D. H. (2021). Structural mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 neutralization by two murine antibodies targeting the RBD. Cell reports, 37(4), 109881.

Basore, K., Ma, H., Kafai, N. M., Mackin, S., Kim, A. S., Nelson, C. A., Diamond, M. S., & Fremont, D. H. (2021). Structure of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus in complex with the LDLRAD3 receptor. Nature, 598(7882), 672–676.

Zhao, H., Xu, L., Bombardi, R., Nargi, R., Deng, Z., Errico, J. M., Nelson, C. A., Dowd, K. A., Pierson, T. C., Crowe, J. E., Diamond, M. S., & Fremont, D. H. (2020). Mechanism of differential Zika and dengue virus neutralization by a public antibody lineage targeting the DIII lateral ridge. The Journal of experimental medicine, 217(2), e20191792.

Wang, X., Piersma, S. J., Elliott, J. I., Errico, J. M., Gainey, M. D., Yang, L., Nelson, C. A., Yokoyama, W. M., & Fremont, D. H. (2019). Cowpox virus encodes a protein that binds B7.1 and B7.2 and subverts T cell costimulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(42), 21113–21119.

Basore, K., Kim, A. S., Nelson, C. A., Zhang, R., Smith, B. K., Uranga, C., Vang, L., Cheng, M., Gross, M. L., Smith, J., Diamond, M. S., & Fremont, D. H. (2019). Cryo-EM Structure of Chikungunya Virus in Complex with the Mxra8 Receptor. Cell, 177(7), 1725–1737.e16.

Wang, X., Piersma, S. J., Nelson, C. A., Dai, Y. N., Christensen, T., Lazear, E., Yang, L., Sluijter, M., van Hall, T., Hansen, T. H., Yokoyama, W. M., & Fremont, D. H. (2018). A herpesvirus encoded Qa-1 mimic inhibits natural killer cell cytotoxicity through CD94/NKG2A receptor engagement. eLife, 7, e38667.

Nelson, C. A., Wilen, C. B., Dai, Y. N., Orchard, R. C., Kim, A. S., Stegeman, R. A., Hsieh, L. L., Smith, T. J., Virgin, H. W., & Fremont, D. H. (2018). Structural basis for murine norovirus engagement of bile acids and the CD300lf receptor. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(39), E9201–E9210.

Zhao, H., Fernandez, E., Dowd, K. A., Speer, S. D., Platt, D. J., Gorman, M. J., Govero, J., Nelson, C. A., Pierson, T. C., Diamond, M. S., & Fremont, D. H. (2016). Structural Basis of Zika Virus-Specific Antibody Protection. Cell, 166(4), 1016–1027.

---

Lab Phone: 314-747-4546
Office Location: CSRB, Room 7701