A message from Kibler:

I have the experience, knowledge, training, and motivation to contribute to this research endeavor. Since beginning my Staff Fellowship at NIH in 1998, my entire career has focused on viral pathogenesis, viral treatments, and vaccine design. My training at NIH was extensive and prepared me for all aspects of the studies conducted both there and in my subsequent positions. 

I have collaborated with many labs, and in large consorti; I’ve been involved in budget preparation, documentation of research methods, and effective communication with multiple grant participants. I have constructed vaccine vectors and managed the production of GLP vaccine pre-clinical seed stocks. For 16 years I have trained students in the lab on all aspects of working with virus-infected cells including in the BSL3 lab and BSL3 animal facilities; I participate in all Jacobs lab ABSL3 experiments and have contributed experimental data on both vaccinia virus and monkeypox virus on all major lab projects.

I serve as a mentor in the ASU SARS-CoV-2 Mentoring Program to train students and staff to work safely in the BSL3 and ABSL3 facilities. Since 2005 I have been the Biodesign High Containment Facility Manager for both the BSL3 and ABSL3 facilities. Starting in April of 2020, I have conducted extensive experiments and studies with SARS-CoV-2 and variants, including mouse-adapted strains, both in the BSL3 lab and the ABSL3 facility. I was one of the faculty members who established the mouse model at ASU for SARS-CoV-2 studies. These prior experiences have provided me with the skills to serve as a Co-Investigator on this study.

Ongoing and recently completed projects that I would like to highlight include:

• Jacobs (PI), Role: Co-Investigator
  10/01/21-09/30/22
• Accelerating ASU Vaccine Development
  Jacobs (PI), Role Co-Investigator
  R21ES030838
  09/23/2021-9/22/23
• Arsenite-induced necroptosis
  R01AI095394
  Jacobs (PI), Role: Co-Investigator
  08/18/2020 – 07/31/2025
• Monkeypox virus, Interferon, and Necroptosis
  R01 AI95394-0141
  Jacobs (PI), Role: Co-Investigator
  05/24/012-04/30/17 (NCE additional year)
• DsRNA Characterization in Monkeypox-infected Cells
  Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  Jacobs (Co-Investigator), Role: Key Personnel
  8/06 – 8/18 (through Supplemental grants)
• Poxvirus T-cell Vaccine Development Consortium   

Citations:

Kibler, K.V., Szczerba, M., Lake, D., Roeder, A.J., Rahman, M., Hogue, BG., Roy Wong, L-Y., Perlman, S., Li, Y. and B.L. Jacobs. 2021. Intranasal immunization with a vaccinia virus vaccine vector expressing pre-fusion stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike fully protected mice against lethal challenge with the heavily mutated mouse-adapted SARS2-N501YMA30 strain of SARS-CoV-2. bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.06.471483.

Koehler H, Cotsmire, S., Langland, J., Kibler, K.V., Kalman, D., Upton, J.W., Mocarski, E.S. and Jacobs, B.L. 2017. Inhibition of DAI-dependent necroptosis by the Z-DNA binding domain of the vaccinia virus innate immune evasion protein, E3. PNAS doi:10.1073/pnas.1700999114. PMID: 29073079.

Arndt WD, Cotsmire S, Trainor K, Harrington H, Hauns K, Kibler KV, Huynh TP, Jacobs BL. 2015. Evasion of the Innate Immune Type I Interferon System by Monkeypox Virus. J Virol 89:10489-10499. PMID: 26246580.

Kibler, K. V., C. E. Gomez, B. Perdiguero, S. Wong, T. Huynh, S. Holechek, W. Arndt, V. Jimenez, R. Gonzalez-Sanz, K. Denzler, E. K. Haddad, R. Wagner, R. P. Sekaly, J. Tartaglia, G. Pantaleo, B. L. Jacobs and M. Esteban. “Improved Nyvac-Based Vaccine Vectors.” PLoS One 6, no. 11 (2011): e25674.

Positions, Scientific Appointments, and Honors

Positions and Employment:

2014- IACUC Chair, ASU

2003- Assistant Research Professor, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

Other Experience and Professional Memberships:

2007-2014 Member, American Biological Safety Association, RBP

2007-2011 Biosafety Officer, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

Contributions to Science:

1. Project Support: I have provided expertise on high containment facility work including Select Agent and non-Select Agent strains of monkeypox virus and SARS-CoV-2; provided HIV expertise/experimental work for collaborating faculty who have developed inhibitors of HIV; constructed many of the Jacobs lab’s poxvirus vaccine vectors. For three major grants (NIH R01; PTVDC and RepiVax, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), I have provided the support for proposal preparations, budget development, grant experimental responsibilities, and publications.

2. Inhibition of apoptosis by the vaccinia virus E3L gene product in vaccinia virus-infected cells. Early work in the Jacobs lab led to publications reporting the vaccinia virus E3L gene product inhibition of apoptosis in vaccinia virus-infected cells and characterization of the domains of the E3L gene product. In more recent years, we have expanded that study to include the monkeypox virus F3L, a homologue of E3L. We have shown that though the F3 protein is functionally deleted of the N-terminal 37 amino acids, monkeypox is pathogenic in susceptible mouse cells and murine cell lines, compared to vaccinia virus with an E3 protein deleted of the N-terminal 37 amino acids. We are now investigating the compensatory mechanism of monkeypox virus for loss of the F3 N-terminal 37 amino acids and how that relates to Z-form nucleic acid binding and IFN-induced necroptosis. Studies in strains of mice with knocked down components of the necroptosis pathway have been instrumental in characterizing how this pathway impacts monkeypox virus pathogenesis and host vulnerability.

2017.   Koehler H, Cotsmire, S., Langland, J., Kibler, K.V., Kalman, D., Upton, J.W., Mocarski, E.S. and Jacobs, B.L. 2017. Inhibition of DAI-dependent necroptosis by the Z-DNA binding domain of the vaccinia virus innate immune evasion protein, E3. PNAS doi:10.1073/pnas.1700999114. PMID: 29073079.

2016.   Arndt, W. D., S. D. White, B. P. Johnson, T. Huynh, J. Liao, H. Harrington, S. Cotsmire, K. V. Kibler, J. Langland, and B. L. Jacobs. 2016. Monkeypox virus induces the synthesis of less dsRNA than vaccinia virus, and is more resistant to the anti-poxvirus drug, IBT, than vaccinia virus. Virology 497:125-135. PMID: 27467578.

10499.   Arndt WD, Cotsmire S, Trainor K, Harrington H, Hauns K, Kibler KV, Huynh TP, Jacobs BL. “Evasion of the Innate Immune Type I Interferon System by Monkeypox Virus.” J Virol 89 (2015): 10489-10499. PMID: 26246580.

2003.   Kibler, K. V., T. Shors, K. B. Perkins, C. C. Zeman, M. P. Banaszak, J. Biesterfeldt, J. O. Langland and B. L. Jacobs. “Double-Stranded Rna Is a Trigger for Apoptosis in Vaccinia Virus-Infected Cells.” J Virol 71, no. 3 (1997): 1992-2003. PMID: 9032331.

3. HIV vaccine candidate. For 12 years, we were part of the PTVDC consortium that developed an HIV vaccine candidate. The candidate vector is a modification of NYVAC and expresses gp140. This vector was designed by the consortium and was constructed here at ASU in the Jacobs lab. Our group characterized the vector and provided the seed stock for the GMP manufacturing. All our work was performed in a GLP lab, which I maintain and supervise. Our lab has also performed the safety studies in rabbits and mice for this vaccine candidate.

1. Kibler KV, Asbach B, Perdiguero B, García-Arriaza J, Yates NL, Parks R, Stanfield-Oakley S, Ferrari G, Montefiori DC, Tomaras GD, Roederer M, Foulds KE, Forthal DN, Seaman MS, Self S, Gottardo R, Phogat S, Tartaglia J, Barnett S, Cristillo AD, Weiss D, Galmin L, Ding S, Heeney JL, Esteban M, Wagner R, Pantaleo G, Jacobs BL. “Replication-Competent VICINIUS VIAVAX Platform Yields Improved Immunogenicity to HIV-1 Antigens in Rhesus Macaques Compared to Nonreplicating NYVAC.” J Virol 93 no. 3 (2019).

1. Perdiguero, B., C. E. Gomez, V. Cepeda, L. Sanchez-Sampedro, J. Garcia-Arriaza, E. Mejias-Perez, V. Jimenez, C. Sanchez, C. O. Sorzano, J. C. Oliveros, J. Delaloye, T. Roger, T. Calandra, B. Asbach, R. Wagner, K. V. Kibler, B. L. Jacobs, G. Pantaleo and M. Esteban. “Virological and Immunological Characterization of Novel Nyvac-Based Hiv/Aids Vaccine Candidates Expressing Clade C Trimeric Soluble Gp140(Zm96) and Gag(Zm96)-Pol-Nef(Cn54) as Virus-Like Particles.” J Virol 89, no. 2 (2015): 970-88.

1. Hulot, S. L., B. Korber, E. E. Giorgi, N. Vandergrift, K. O. Saunders, H. Balachandran, L. V. Mach, M. A. Lifton, G. Pantaleo, J. Tartaglia, S. Phogat, B. Jacobs, K. Kibler, B. Perdiguero, C. E. Gomez, M. Esteban, M. Rosati, B. K. Felber, G. N. Pavlakis, R. Parks, K. Lloyd, L. Sutherland, R. Scearce, N. L. Letvin, M. S. Seaman, S. M. Alam, D. Montefiori, H. X. Liao, B. F. Haynes and S. Santra. “Comparison of Immunogenicity in Rhesus Macaques of Transmitted-Founder, Hiv-1 Group M Consensus and Trivalent Mosaic Envelope Vaccines Formulated as a DNA Prime, Nyvac and Envelope Protein Boost.” J Virol, 89 no. 12 (2015): 6462-80.

1. Kibler, K. V., C. E. Gomez, B. Perdiguero, S. Wong, T. Huynh, S. Holechek, W. Arndt, V. Jimenez, R. Gonzalez-Sanz, K. Denzler, E. K. Haddad, R. Wagner, R. P. Sekaly, J. Tartaglia, G. Pantaleo, B. L. Jacobs and M. Esteban. “Improved Nyvac-Based Vaccine Vectors.” PLoS One 6, no. 11 (2011): e25674.

4. SARS-CoV-2 treatments and vaccine candidates. I perform viral assays with SARS-CoV-2 and mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 for the Jacobs lab as well as for collaborators, contributing to the growing body of characterization that will identify inhibitors of the virus and identify efficacious vaccination strategies. I provide mentoring to students who wish to work at BSL3 and am authorized to perform independent work with SARS-CoV-2 variants in the ABSL3 facility. We have completed numerous studies, including vaccine/challenge studies as well as functional characterizations of pathogenesis and necroptosis in knock-out mouse strains.

1. Kibler, K.V., Szczerba, M., Lake, D., Roeder, A.J., Rahman, M., Hogue, BG., Roy Wong, L-Y., Perlman, S., Li, Y. and B.L. Jacobs. 2021. Intranasal immunization with a vaccinia virus vaccine vector expressing pre-fusion stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike fully protected mice against lethal challenge with the heavily mutated mouse-adapted SARS2-N501YMA30 strain of SARS-CoV-2. Vaccines 10(8):1172.

1.  Freeman, S., Kibler, K., Lipsky, Z., Jin, S., German, G.K., and K. Ye. 2022. Systematic evaluating and modeling of SARS-CoV-2 UVC disinfection. Sci Rep 12(1):5869.

1. Jugler, C., Sun, H., Grill, F., Kibler, K.V., Esqueda, A., Lai, H., Li, Y., Lake, D.F., and Q. Chen. 2022. Potential of a Plant-Made SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibody. Vaccines 10(5):772.

Full list of publications available in My Bibliography: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/karen.kibler.1/bibliography/public/