Keanu Davis

Keanu Davis

Washington University in St. Louis

Keanu Davis, who is from Pittsburgh, Penn., is majoring in microbiology with minor in sociology at Washington University in St. Louis.

“The summer before my senior year of high school, I became interested in research following an experience at the University of Pittsburgh’s Drug Discovery Institute,” said Davis.

Today, Davis is interested in microbiology and immunology and will be focusing on HIV genome packaging. His project involves replacing the genome binding region of an HIV protein involved in genome packaging with a heterologous cellular protein with known binding specificity to test whether or not viral genomes can still be packaged efficiently. He will be working with Dr. Sebla Kutluay.

Earlier this year, Davis participated in the Infectious Disease Gateway Program at WashU’s School of Medicine. He also enjoys listening to music, playing lacrosse and being outdoors.