Victor Lam

Biography

Victor Lam is a postdoctoral researcher in the Applied Biosciences Lab in Sandia’s Livermore site. He is currently working on a project investigating the host-viral protein-protein interactions of a wide array of arenaviruses and methods of disrupting these interactions to limit infection. Due to the high biocontainment level needed to study many arenaviruses, Victor is also developing and testing lower biocontainment surrogate assays as a way to test potential countermeasures and investigate these interactions further.

Education

BS, Biology Honors, University of Texas at Austin, 2017

PhD, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of California San Francisco, 2023

Research Interests

Victor is interested in the molecular interactions between host and viruses, especially at the RNA and protein levels. During his PhD, Victor worked on using in vitro biochemistry, protein purification, and in cellulo techniques to investigate the interactions between HIV Vif and APOBEC. His current research leans more into developing in cellulo assays for assessing the disruption of arenaviral-host PPIs along with using lower risk group arenaviruses to evaluate these countermeasures.

Professional Organizations and Leadership

American Society for Virology Associate Member (2024-present)

Publications

Jan S, Phadke KS, Lam VL, Branda SS, Johnson DM. Lassa virus protein-protein interactions as mediators of Lassa fever pathogenesis. Virol J. 2025 Feb 28;22(1):52. doi: 10.1186/s12985-025-02669-y. PMID: 40022100; PMCID: PMC11869472.