I worked under Dr. Junji Xing in the Immunobiology and Transplant Science Center. My project focused on the role of MURF2 in viral myocarditis, a disease caused by an overactive innate immune response to viral infection that can lead to cardiomyocyte dysfunction, cardiac inflammation, and heart failure in otherwise healthy individuals. An estimated 20% of sudden deaths in young adults are attributed to this disease.

We found that muscle-specific RING finger protein 2 (MURF2), interacts with IRF3, a key transcription factor involved in interferon production, to positively regulate type I interferons, signaling molecules that restrict viral replication and reduce cardiac inflammation and mortality. Mice lacking MURF2 exhibited more severe cardiac inflammation and higher mortality following CVB3 infection, suggesting that MURF2 protects the heart during viral infection and may serve as a therapeutic target for treating viral myocarditis.