Jianming Qiu, PhD

Professional Background

Dr. Jianming Qiu is a Professor of Virology in the Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics and Immunology at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas. He is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM).

Dr. Qiu earned his bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine and a master’s degree in animal biochemistry and physiology from the School of Animal Sciences at Zhejiang University (formerly Zhejiang Agricultural University), China. He received his Ph.D. in medical immunology from the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC).

Dr. Qiu completed postdoctoral training in molecular virology at the Hematology Branch of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and at the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Missouri–Columbia.

• BS, Veterinary Medicine, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
• MS, Biochemistry, College of Agriculture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
• PhD, Molecular Virology, Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine (Currently Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention), Beijing, China
• Other, Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD
• Post Doctoral Fellowship, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO

Research

Overview

Parvoviruses are small DNA viruses of ~25 nm in diameter with a linear single-stranded genome of approximately 4.5–5.5 kb that contains palindromic hairpin termini serving as the origins of DNA replication. The viral genome is packaged within a non-enveloped, icosahedral capsid. Human parvoviruses include human parvovirus B19 (B19V), the causative agent of fifth disease and several hematological disorders; human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1), which causes lower respiratory tract infections in young children; and adeno-associated viruses (AAVs), which are non-pathogenic in humans and widely used as vectors for gene therapy.

The Qiu Laboratory focuses on the molecular biology of human parvoviruses, with a major emphasis on recombinant AAV (rAAV) transduction biology and the development of rAAV-based gene therapy. Our research investigates vector–host interactions that regulate vector entry, intracellular trafficking, genome conversion and persistence, and transgene expression. These studies have led to the identification of novel cellular receptors and host factors that control rAAV transduction and gene delivery.

A major goal of the laboratory is to develop rAAV vectors for gene therapy for pulmonary diseases, particularly cystic fibrosis, including gene-editing approaches. Using human airway epithelium air–liquid interface (HAE-ALI) cultures and animal models, we investigate how rAAV vectors overcome intracellular barriers in airway epithelial cells and engineer next-generation vectors with enhanced transduction efficiency and durability.

In addition to AAV research, the laboratory studies the replication and pathogenesis of B19V and HBoV1 to understand how these viruses enter cells, utilize host DNA replication and repair machinery for viral DNA replication, and evade cellular antiviral responses.

Together, these studies aim to advance the fundamental understanding of parvovirus biology while enabling the development of improved rAAV and parvoviral vectors for gene therapies of pulmonary diseases.

Current Research Projects
1. Development of rAAV and parvoviral vectors for gene therapy of pulmonary diseases.
2. Investigation of the molecular mechanisms of parvovirus infection in human erythroid progenitor cells.
3. Study of human respiratory virus infection in human airway epithelium.