The University of Connecticut (UConn) is one of America’s top 20 public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report. It is home to more than 31,000 students, 1,300 faculty, 230,000 proud alumni, and a handsome husky named Jonathan.

The University has fourteen schools and colleges: Agriculture and Natural Resources, Business, Dental Medicine, Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, Law, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Social Work. Students can choose from eight undergraduate bachelor's degrees with 102 possible majors, as well as seventeen graduate/doctoral degrees and five professional degree programs (MD, JD, etc.).

UConn's main campus in Storrs is admitting the highest-achieving freshmen in University history. Student diversity continues to increase, as does the number of honors students, valedictorians and salutatorians who consistently make UConn their top choice. It's a great time to be a Husky!

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Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Award

Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Fellow 2002-2003

Merit Award 1997-2007

Elected Vice President and President Elect of the CASE, Vice President

Scientific Advisory Board Morgridge Institutes Madison, Wisconsin, Chair

American Academy of Microbiology, Member

American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Member

The UL8 subunit of the helicase-primase complex of herpes simplex virus promotes DNA annealing and has a high affinity for replication forks.

The exonuclease activity of HSV-1 UL12 is required for the production of viral DNA that can be packaged to produce infectious virus.

An Intrinsically Disordered Region of the DNA Repair Protein Nbs1 Is a Species-Specific Barrier to Herpes Simplex Virus 1 in Primates.

Structural Characterization of Interaction between Human Ubiquitin-specific Protease 7 and Immediate-Early Protein ICP0 of Herpes Simplex Virus-1.

ICP8 Filament Formation Is Essential for Replication Compartment Formation during Herpes Simplex Virus Infection.

Sandra K. Weller is Professor and Chair in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biophysics at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Weller is internationally recognized for ground-breaking discoveries on herpes simplex virus.

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Herpes Simplex Virus

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UConn Professors Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The Coronavirus Is a Master of Mixing Its Genome, Worrying Scientists

experts-in-the-media-uconns-dr-sandra-weller-in-the-new-york-times-on-why-scientists-are-worried-as-covid19-mutates

Professor and Chair, Department of Molecular Biology and Biophysics

 COVID-9 is changing.  With variants from places like Britain, Brazil, and South Africa surfacing and presenting in patients around the globe, the virus that scientists are trying to trap seems to be finding ways to wiggle free.

The topic has many in the scientific and health care communities concerned, and recently, the New York Times featured leading experts to help explain what is happening and what American’s need to know to stay safe and healthy.

 Now, Dr. Denison and Sandra Weller, a virologist at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, are investigating whether this insight could treat people with Covid. Certain antiviral drugs such as remdesivir fight infections by serving as RNA decoys that gum up the viral replication process. But these medications don’t work as well as some had hoped for coronaviruses. One theory is that the nsp14-ExoN enzyme chucks out the errors caused by these drugs, thereby rescuing the virus. Dr. Denison and Dr. Weller, among others, are looking for drugs that would block the activity of nsp14-ExoN, allowing remdesivir and other antivirals to work more effectively. Dr. Weller likens this approach to the cocktail therapies for H.I.V., which combine molecules that act on different aspects of the virus’s replication. “We need combination therapy for coronaviruses,” she said. Dr. Weller notes that nsp14-ExoN is shared across coronaviruses, so a drug that successfully suppresses it could act against more than just SARS-CoV-2. She and Dr. Denison are still at the early stages of drug discovery, testing different molecules in cells. February 05 – New York Times   The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is seeing many different twists in turns as scientists are learning more about the virus and how we can contain its spread – and if you are a journalist looking to speak with an expert on the topic, then let us help.

Sandra K. Weller is Professor and Chair in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biophysics at the University of Connecticut and is a world-renowned expert in the spread of viruses. Dr. Weller is available to speak with media – simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.



Experts in the media – UConn’s Dr. Sandra Weller in the New York Times on why scientists are worried as COVID-19 mutates

Vincent Racaniello of the This Week in Virology podcast interviews Sandra Weller, PhD, about her career and professional experience in the field of virology. Weller's laboratory uses genetic, biochemical, biophysical, structural and molecular approaches to elucidate mechanisms of synthesis, maturation and cleavage and packaging of viral genomes. One of the lab's goals is to identify antiviral targets which can be exploited to develop strategies for controlling viral infections. 

This video is one of 26 video interviews with eminent virologists that are part of the supplemental material for the release of the Principles of Virology, 4th Edition, textbook published by ASM Press.

To learn more or to order a review copy please visit http://www.asm.org/pov
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Interview with Sandra Weller, PhD - Principles of Virology, 4th Edition

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