Alice Telesnitsky, PhD
Microbiology and Immunology
1150 W. Medical Center Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
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About
Alice Telesnitsky earned her BS degree in Genetics at the University of California, Davis in 1979. She earned her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of California, Berkley in 1988. She performed her post-doctorate fellowship at the College of Physicians and Surgeons Laboratory of Dr. Stephen Goff, Columbia University in New York. She joined the faculty at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1994, and currently resides over a lab studying the functions and dynamics of RNA in the context of retroviral replication, mechanisms of retroviral genetic variation, and the epigenetics of HIV-1 persistence.
Links
Telesnitsky Lab
Qualifications
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Postdoctoral FellowCollege of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, United States
1989 - 1994
Postdoctoral Fellowship
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PhDUniversity of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
1983 - 1988
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BSUniversity of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
1976 - 1979
Center Memberships
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Center MemberGlobal REACH
Research Overview
* Retroviral genomic RNA structure, dynamics, and molecular recognition
* Epigenetics of HIV persistence
* Mechanisms of retroviral genetic variation
* Reverse transcriptase enzymology and the process of reverse transcription
* Determinants and roles of host RNAs in retroviral particles
Recent Publications
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Hollmann NM, Kharytonchyk S, Buchannan A, Phillips C, Ledbetter A, Ahmed F, Adelstein A, Barry K, Geleta SA, Burnett C, Telesnitsky A, Ganser-Pornillos BK, Pornillos O, Summers MF. 2026 Jun 21; bioRxiv,PreprintStructural Basis for Dimeric Genome Selection by HIV-1
DOI:10.64898/2026.06.17.732839 -
Vuong HR, Zhou Q, L Lesko S, Tenneti K, Davis K, Scott S, Guo M, Boodwa-Ko D, Eschbach JE, Gopal K, Porter JM, Wang Q, Xia M, Boateng A, Wang Y, Mohammed S, Lee N, Telesnitsky A, M Sherer N, Kutluay SB. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2026 Apr 7; 123 (14): e2522851123Journal ArticleThe biased adenosine-rich content of the HIV-1 genome serves as a molecular signature that facilitates efficient packaging.
DOI:10.1073/pnas.2522851123 PMID: 41926539 -
Clark S, Atindaana E, Gopal K, Kidd JM, Telesnitsky A. 2026 Mar 3; bioRxiv,PreprintInvestigating the dynamics of proviral silencing in polyclonal HIV-1 infected Jurkat cell populations
DOI:10.64898/2026.02.26.708239 -
Gopal K, Burnett C, Kharytonchyk S, Emery A, Atindaana E, Swanstrom R, Kidd JM, Telesnitsky A. Journal of Virology, 2025 Dec 1; 99 (12):Journal ArticleRNA splicing patterns contribute to burst size variation among HIV-1-infected Jurkat cell clones
DOI:10.1128/jvi.01334-25 PMID: 41277841 -
Hughes IK, Kharytonchyk S, Ramaswamy S, Jalloh S, Hood JB, He X, Henderson AJ, Akiyama H, Telesnitsky A, Gummuluru S. 2025 Aug 25;Preprint5' cap sequestration is required for sensing of unspliced HIV-1 RNA by MDA5.
DOI:10.1101/2025.08.20.671346 PMID: 40909469 -
Vuong HR, Zhou Q, Lesko S, Tenneti K, Davis K, Scott S, Boodwa-Ko D, Eschbach JE, Gopal K, Porter JM, Wang Y, Mohammed S, Lee N, Telesnitsky A, Sherer N, Kutluay SB. 2025 May 1;PreprintEfficient packaging of HIV-1 genomes via recognition of its adenosine-rich content by a heterologous RNA-binding domain.
DOI:10.1101/2025.05.01.651415 PMID: 40654762 -
Gc K, Lesko S, Emery A, Burnett C, Gopal K, Clark S, Swanstrom R, Sherer NM, Telesnitsky A, Kharytonchyk S. Journal of Virology, 2025 Apr 1; 99 (4):Journal ArticleHIV-1 single-transcription start-site mutants display complementary replication functions that are restored by reversion
DOI:10.1128/jvi.02139-24 PMID: 40035516 -
GS K, Lesko S, Emery A, Burnett C, Gopal K, Clark S, Swanstrom R, Sherer N, Telesnitsky A, Kharytonchyk S. 2024 May 31;Journal ArticleHIV-1 single Transcription Start Site mutants display compensatory functions that restored by reversions.
