The Rivera-Serrano lab in the Biology Department attended the 18th annual Southeastern Regional Virology Conference (SERVC), held April 24–26 in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference brought together virology researchers and trainees from across the region to share new findings, build professional connections and discuss advances in the study of viruses and viral diseases.
Assistant Professor of Biology Efraín E. Rivera-Serrano gave an oral presentation titled “Identification and Characterization of a Reovirus Variant with Improved Oncolytic Potential Against Fibrosarcoma” at the 2026 Southeastern Regional Virology Conference. The presentation highlighted research led by past and current undergraduate researchers in the Rivera-Serrano lab, whose work explores how oncolytic viruses can be used to target rare cancers such as fibrosarcoma. The results presented at the conference were recently accepted for publication in the journal Virus Genes.
This research has been supported by Elon’s Undergraduate Research Program (URP), including Grants-in-Aid support and Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) funds that supported the work of Charlotte Dagli ’25, Ryder Hutchinson ’28 and Alice Efremov ’26, all of whom are co-authors on the research publication. Travel assistance for the conference was also provided by Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Biology Department Gift Fund.
Lab attendees included Ryder Hutchinson ’28, Alice Efremov ’26, Alex Roberts ’27, Kalialani Choate ’28 and Zach Stein ’29. In addition to attending conference sessions and supporting the lab’s presentation, the trip served as the group’s first laboratory retreat, giving students an opportunity to strengthen connections as a research team through shared meals, informal mentoring and a visit to the Georgia Aquarium before returning to North Carolina.
