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Presence Current · Arkansas
Last published 2025
Sources OpenAlex · ORCID
Refreshed 2026-08-20

Mark Manzano

Federal Grant PI

Asssistant Professor

Also affiliated: Northwestern University (2013–2020); Georgetown University (2010–2016); Georgetown University Medical Center (2010–2014); Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (2022–2024)

Faculty Researcher

Microbiology & Immunology, College of Medicine

15 h-index 32 pubs 1,340 cited

  • Humans
  • Herpesvirus 8, Human
  • Animals
  • Dengue Virus
  • Lymphoma, Primary Effusion
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions
  • CRISPR-Cas Systems
  • Mice
  • Cell Line
  • MicroRNAs
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Virus Replication
  • Replicon
  • RNA, Viral
  • Cell Line, Tumor

Biography and Research Information

OverviewAI-generated summary

Mark Manzano, an Assistant Professor in Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, investigates host-pathogen interactions and biological processes using functional genomics, particularly CRISPR screens. His laboratory's work focuses on Primary Effusion Lymphoma (PEL), an aggressive B cell cancer associated with the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV/HHV8). PEL cells depend on viral genes that alter host gene expression to promote tumor cell proliferation and survival. Manzano's research has identified over 200 host genes essential for PEL cell growth and survival, aiming to elucidate their specific functions within B cell lymphoma.

Utilizing CRISPR/Cas9, CRISPRi, and CRISPRa technologies, his lab conducts genome-wide screens to uncover functional genetic interactions and identify synthetic lethality and rescue pathways. This unbiased approach seeks to reveal novel therapeutic targets and understand the molecular mechanisms underlying KSHV latency and KSHV-transformed cell line dependence on specific host genes, such as MCL1. Manzano has secured significant federal funding for his research, including multiple NIH grants totaling over $1.3 million, focusing on KSHV pathogenesis, oncogenic roles of viral genes, and epigenetic regulation of viral latency.

Metrics

  • h-index: 15
  • Publications: 32
  • Citations: 1,340

Selected Publications

  • Cytotoxicity of activator expression in CRISPR-based transcriptional activation systems (2025)
    Nature Communications 4 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Intrinsic p53 activation restricts gammaherpesvirus driven germinal center B cell expansion during latency establishment (2025)
    Nature Communications 4 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • The Mitochondrial Ubiquitin Ligase MARCHF5 Cooperates with MCL1 to Inhibit Apoptosis in KSHV-Transformed Primary Effusion Lymphoma Cell Lines (2024)
    bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) DOI OpenAlex
  • Cytotoxicity of Activator Expression in CRISPR-based Transcriptional Activation Systems (2024)
    bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) 3 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Molecular Mechanisms of KSHV Latency Establishment and Maintenance (2024)
    Current Clinical Microbiology Reports 4 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Suppression of TRIP13 Induces Metabolic Changes and Potentiates Ferroptosis in Multiple Myeloma (2023)
    Blood DOI OpenAlex
  • Intrinsic p53 Activation Restricts Gammaherpesvirus-Driven Germinal Center B Cell Expansion during Latency Establishment (2023)
    bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) DOI OpenAlex
  • CRISPR screens identify novel regulators of cFLIP dependency and ligand-independent, TRAIL-R1-mediated cell death (2023)
    Cell Death and Differentiation 9 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Expression Ratios of the Antiapoptotic BCL2 Family Members Dictate the Selective Addiction of Kaposi’s Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus-Transformed Primary Effusion Lymphoma Cell Lines to MCL1 (2022)
    Journal of Virology 3 citations DOI OpenAlex
  • Expression Ratios of the Anti-Apoptotic BCL2 Family Members Dictate the Selective Addiction of KSHV-Transformed Primary Effusion Lymphoma Cell Lines to MCL1 (2022)
    bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) DOI OpenAlex
  • CRISPR Screens Identify Novel Regulators of cFLIP Dependency and Ligand-Independent, TRAIL-R1-Mediated Cell Death (2022)
    bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) 2 citations DOI OpenAlex

View all publications on OpenAlex →

Federal Grants 4 $1,371,020 total

NIH Contact PI Jul 2025 - Mar 2030

Epigenetic Regulation of KSHV Latency

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research $613,469 R01
NIH Co-PI Jun 2025 - May 2027

Lytic viral genes in the pathogenesis of oncogenic gammaherpesviruses

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases $420,335 R21
NIH Contact PI Aug 2023 - Jul 2025

Role of a latent OriLyt RNA in KSHV latency in primary effusion lymphoma

National Cancer Institute $178,819 R21
NIH Contact PI Sep 2020 - Aug 2023

Oncogenic Roles and Therapeutic Potential of MCL1 Addiction in Primary Effusion Lymphoma

National Cancer Institute $158,397 K22

Collaboration Network

47 Collaborators 8 Institutions 1 Country

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