Valery Z. Grdzelishvili, Ph.D. (Professor, Principal Investigator). I was born in Baku, Azerbaijan (former USSR), grew up in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia (former USSR), and studied towards all my degrees (B.S., M.S. and Ph.D.) at the M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, a flagship USSR/Russian research institution. In November 1998, just days after defending my dissertation, I moved to University of Florida where I worked as a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Dr. William O. Dawson to study molecular mechanisms of gene expression in RNA viruses. Two years later, I moved to University of Wisconsin-Madison where I continued to work with positive-strand RNA viruses as a Howard Hughes Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Paul Ahlquist (host factors of virus replication). In 2004, I moved back to University of Florida as a Research Assistant Professor in the laboratory of Dr. Sue Moyer and switched my research focus from positive-strand to negative-strand RNA viruses (the order Mononegavirales). In 2006 I started my own laboratory at the UNC Charlotte Department of Biological Sciences. Our laboratory is focused on molecular biology and various applications of nonsegmented negative-strand RNA viruses [vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in particular]. The major focus is the exploitation of existing and engineering new viruses as clinically important anticancer (“oncolytic”) agents. We are particularly interested in the identification and characterization of cellular and viral determinants of susceptibility or resistance of pancreatic cancer cells to VSV and other oncolytic viruses.
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Cassandra (Cassie) Catacalos (Ph.D. Student). I was born in New Jersey but grew up in Mooresville, NC where just down the road, I received my B.S. from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) in Biology with a concentration in cell and molecular biology. I pursued undergraduate and graduate research studying post-transcriptional gene regulation in the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. During this time, I developed an interest in the RNA modification, m6A. Currently, I am particularly interested in exploring viral RNA regulatory pathways during my doctoral studies in the Grdzelishvili lab. Outside of the lab, I enjoy disc golfing, backpacking, and running marathons.
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Jacob Hawkins (Ph.D. Student). I am from Denver, North Carolina. It is my goal to work in the research field with topics concerning medicine and treating chronic illnesses. Genetic engineering and its overlap with virology have always been of interest to me so I am very happy to now be working with recombinant viruses for clinical purposes.
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Nathaniel Foret (M.S. Student). I’m from Concord, NC. After earning my B.S. in biology from UNC Charlotte in May 2025, I have continued at UNC Charlotte studying for my M.S. in biology under Dr. Grdzelishvili. Afterwards I plan to continue my academic career pursuing my Ph.D. in health and human disease related areas. With long term goals to do a postdoc and one day start my own lab focused on improving the quality and quantity of life for those suffering from diseases we may not fully understand yet.
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Charlotte Johnstone (early M.S. Student). I am currently an Early Entry Master’s student in the Department of Biological Sciences at UNC Charlotte. As I continue my education, I wish to pursue a career in biological research, specifically in the field of virology.
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Irakli Mataradze (Honors Student). I was born in Tbilisi, Georgia. Spent 17 years of my life there and moved to North Carolina in 2022. I’m a junior at UNCC and want to pursue a medical career. I find particular interest in Virology, Genetics and Immunology. I love playing tennis and soccer when I’m free and fun fact: I can speak 4 languages
