Under the guidance of Fox Chase researcher Richard Katz, Ph.D., Boimel has been studying retroviruses.
Retroviruses are a unique class of viruses characterized by their method of replication.
Using a specific enzyme, they can synthesize a strand of DNA that corresponds to their RNA, and can then integrate their genetic material into the chromosome of their host cell, making retroviral infection an efficient method of gene transfer. Once infected by the virus,the protein causes the cell to show-up bright green, thus allowing the presence of the virus to be more easily perceived. Its clear visibility makes it useful in determining the stage of infection in the cell. If the cell is infected by the retrovirus containing GFP before the cell replicates its DNA, both daughter cells will be infected by the retrovirus. If the cell is infected after it replicates its DNA, only one daughter cell will be infected by the retrovirus, and consequently 50 percent of the daughter cells will be infected.