Dr. K Gus Kousoulas received his BS in Physics from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Pennsylvania State University in Biophysics and Molecular Cell Biology, respectively. He received postdoctoral training at the University of Chicago, working with Dr. Bernard Roizman (a member of the National Academy of Sciences), and at the University of California at San Francisco with Dr. Lenore Pereira, where later he was promoted to Research Assistant Professor. He is currently Head of the Department of Pathobiological Sciences (PBS), Director of the Division of Biotechnology Molecular Medicine (BioMMed), and the Hans and Hannelore Distinguished Professor of Pathobiological Sciences at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) with a joint appointment in the Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Agricultural Experiment Station and adjunct appointments in the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Basic Sciences at LSU Baton Rouge. His adjunct appointments at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans include the Departments of Microbiology, Immunology, Parasitology, and the Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center. He has served as the LSU Associate Vice President for Research and Economic Development, particularly in STEM research and development efforts, overseeing all LSU Baton Rouge major research centers and institutes (2013-2019). He is an affiliate of the Tulane National Primate Research Center in Covington, LA. Dr. Kousoulas has served as the Principal Investigator of the NIH - funded (COBRE) LSU-Tulane Center for Experimental Infectious Diseases (2004-2017), and he is currently the Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded (INBRE) Louisiana Center for Biomedical Research (LBRN). He serves in the scientific advisory committees of the NIH-funded (COBRECTR) Louisiana Clinical & Translational Science Center (LACaTS) led by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Dr. Kousoulas is the Chair of the National Scientific Advisory Boards (NSAB) of the Tulane National Primate Research Center in Covington, LA, and the Southwest National Primate Research Center in San Antonio, TX. Dr. Kousoulas has chaired and served as a member in more than 20 NIH and USDA panels. His research interests are focused on the molecular biology of human herpes viruses, herpes simplex virus type-1 and-2 (HSV-1; HSV2) that cause facial and genital infections, and Kaposi’s Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) that causes Kaposi’s cancer in humans. He has also worked on the molecular biology of coronaviruses, including bovine coronavirus and SARS CoV-1 and -2. He has extensively utilized viral vectors for vaccine development and cancer treatment. He has constructed and patented herpes simplex viruses for treating melanoma, gliomas, and breast cancers. Other research and teaching interests include the structure and function of proteins and glycoproteins involved in membrane fusion, including the structure and function of the SARS CoV-2 coronavirus Spike (S) glycoprotein, the use of virus-like particles for drug delivery, next-generation technologies, and advanced bioinformatics, and the development of new drugs to combat infectious diseases. His teaching expertise and research interests are molecular and cellular biology, virology, genetics, bioinformatics, cancer biology, immunology, and nanomedicine.
