Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine

Elias Coutavas, PhD

Assistant Professor in Medicine
Campus mail 3 Genome Court, Msrb3 Rm 3112, Durham, NC 27705
Phone (919) 660-3833
Email address elias.coutavas@duke.edu

In 2020 Dr. Coutavas joined the Division of Pulmonary Allergy, and Critical Care, as the Director of Scientific Operations.

He has a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from NYU and previously worked at the Rockefeller University with Günter Blobel, the 1999 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, where he discovered the nuclear pore complex component, Nup358, and co-discovered SUMO. His scientific expertise is in biochemistry, molecular biology, and bio-imaging, and he has extensive experience in laboratory operations and management. Dr. Coutavas will facilitate the exciting cutting edge research being done both in the Lee lab and the other labs within the Pulmonary division at DUMC for the benefit of patients with lung diseases everywhere.

Education and Training

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, Cell Biology, Rockefeller University, 1994 - 1999
  • Ph.D., New York University, 1993

Grants

Publications

Chun, Hyung J., Elias Coutavas, Alexander B. Pine, Alfred I. Lee, Vanessa L. Yu, Marcus K. Shallow, Coral X. Giovacchini, et al. “Immunofibrotic drivers of impaired lung function in postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection.” Jci Insight 6, no. 14 (July 22, 2021). https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.148476.

PMID
34111030
Full Text

Kim, S., C. Zhou, E. Coutavas, and P. Lee. “Effect of Toll-Like Receptor 4 on Tom70 Expression and Its Role in Mitochondria.” In American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Vol. 203, 2021.

Scholars@Duke

Kim, S., C. Hwangbo, P. Shan, Y. Zhang, L. Macadlo, J. Ou, P. Tata, E. Coutavas, and P. Lee. “Epigenetic Alterations in Cigarette Smoke-Induced Endothelial Cell Senescence.” In American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Vol. 203, 2021.

Scholars@Duke

Blus, Bartlomiej J., Aleksandra Krolak, Junseock Koh, Hyuk-Soo Seo, and Elias Coutavas. “Allosteric Regulation of Nucleoporin Assemblies by Protein Intrinsic Disorder.” In Biophysical Journal, 120:216A-216A, 2021.

Scholars@Duke

Wang, Rong, Xiaofeng Qi, Philip Schmiege, Elias Coutavas, and Xiaochun Li. “Marked structural rearrangement of mannose 6-phosphate/IGF2 receptor at different pH environments.” Sci Adv 6, no. 7 (February 2020): eaaz1466. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz1466.

PMID
32095534
Full Text

Blus, Bartlomiej Jan, Junseock Koh, Aleksandra Krolak, Hyuk-Soo Seo, Elias Coutavas, and Günter Blobel. “Allosteric modulation of nucleoporin assemblies by intrinsically disordered regions.” Sci Adv 5, no. 11 (November 2019): eaax1836. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax1836.

PMID
31807700
Full Text

Qi, Xiaofeng, Philip Schmiege, Elias Coutavas, and Xiaochun Li. “Two Patched molecules engage distinct sites on Hedgehog yielding a signaling-competent complex.” Science 362, no. 6410 (October 5, 2018). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aas8843.

PMID
30139912
Full Text

Qi, Xiaofeng, Philip Schmiege, Elias Coutavas, Jiawei Wang, and Xiaochun Li. “Structures of human Patched and its complex with native palmitoylated sonic hedgehog.” Nature 560, no. 7716 (August 2018): 128–32. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0308-7.

PMID
29995851
Full Text

Loftus, Kyle M., Heying Cui, Elias Coutavas, David S. King, Amanda Ceravolo, Dylan Pereiras, and Sozanne R. Solmaz. “Mechanism for G2 phase-specific nuclear export of the kinetochore protein CENP-F.” Cell Cycle 16, no. 15 (August 3, 2017): 1414–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/15384101.2017.1338218.

PMID
28723232
Full Text

Pages