Contact Details
University Links
- Position
- Research Fellow
- Department
- Department of Biochemistry
- Iwi affiliations
- Ngāpuhi
- Qualifications
- PhD
- Research summary
- Structural biology and biotechnology
Research
My research is focused on understanding and engineering viruses for biotechnological and therapeutic applications, with a particular interest in old and ancient viruses and the molecular structures that underpin their function. By studying the structure-function relationship between both modern viruses and viruses from the past, my group explores how this evolutionary diversity can inspire new approaches to biotechnology and medicine.
Our research focuses on three interconnected areas
- Understanding the structures and functions of old and ancient viruses, using structural biology, molecular virology and evolutionary approaches to investigate how viral proteins and particles have changed over time
- Engineering viral proteins and particles as biotechnology platforms with potential applications in medicine and biotechnology
- Exploring Māori whakaaro around viruses and their use in biotechnology and healthcare, including how emerging virus-based technologies can be developed in ways that meaningfully engage with mātauranga Māori, tikanga, community perspectives, and questions of benefit, responsibility, and trust
Our work combines structural biology, cryo-electron microscopy and tomography, molecular biology, protein and virus engineering, and synthetic biology. This work looks both backwards at the evolutionary history of viruses and forwards to their possible technological applications relevant to Aotearoa New Zealand.
Publications
Kumaran, R., McFarlane, H., Ewenson, C. J., McJarrow-Keller, K., Eruera, A.-R., Strauss, M., & Bostina, M. (2026). A classic fold with a twist: Structural architecture of Dhillonvirus phage Bas18. Journal of Molecular Biology, 438, 169937. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2026.169937 Journal - Research Article
Kumaran, R., Jayawardena, N., Chen, K.-L., Eruera, A.-R., Hodgkinson-Bean, J., Burga, L. N., … Bostina, M. (2025). Cryo-EM structure of the Seneca Valley virus A-particle and related structural states. Journal of Virology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1128/jvi.00744-25 Journal - Research Article
McJarrow-Keller, K., Eruera, A.-R., Crowe, A. J. M., Kumaran, R., Hyun, J., & Bostina, M. (2025). Atlas of interactions between decoration proteins and major capsid proteins of coliphage N4. Viruses, 17, 19. doi: 10.3390/v17010019 Journal - Research Other
McSweeney, A. M., Eruera, A.-R., McKenzie-Goldsmith, G. M., Bouwer, J. C., Brown, S. H. J., Stubbing, L. A., … Bostina, M., Krause, K. L., & Ward, V. K. (2024). Activity and cryo-EM structure of the polymerase domain of the human norovirus ProPol precursor. Journal of Virology, 98(11), e01193-24. doi: 10.1128/jvi.01193-24 Journal - Research Article
Eruera, A.-R., Hodgkinson-Bean, J., Rutter, G. L., Hills, F. R., Kumaran, R., Crowe, A. J. M., Jadav, N., Chang, F., McJarrow-Keller, K., Jorge, F., … Bostina, M. (2024). Ejectosome of Pectobacterium bacteriophage ΦM1. PNAS Nexus, 3, pgae416. doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae416 Journal - Research Article