Of Mice and Men: the Role of Host Type I Interferon Signaling in Control of Ebola Virus Replication
Seminar/Forum
Auditorium
Peter Doherty Institute
Grattan Street, Parkville
The unprecedented 2013-2016 outbreak of Ebola virus (EBOV) resulted in over 11,300 human deaths. This seminar will discuss two areas of research regarding EBOV interactions with the host IFN response: 1) the systems biology of MAVS signaling in mice that has revealed tissue-specific MAVS-dependent transcriptional pathways associated with host resistance to EBOV, and 2) examination of specific human IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) that interact with EBOV and confer host specific-resistance to EBOV infection.
Presenter
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Dr Sonja Best, Investigator - Innate Immunity and Pathogenesis UnitDr Sonja Best
Investigator - Innate Immunity and Pathogenesis Unit
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Dr. Best received her Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the Australian National University where she studied the pathogenesis of myxoma virus, a poxvirus. She conducted her postdoctoral research at Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) on the complex role of apoptosis in the replication of parvoviruses. She stayed at RML as a Research Fellow and then a Staff Scientist to investigate virushost interactions involved in flavivirus pathogenesis. It was during this time that she developed her interests in innate immunity and the molecular mechanisms utilized by flaviviruses to evade these critical host responses. In 2009, Dr. Best established an independent laboratory as a tenuretrack investigator to expand her studies on interactions between pathogenic viruses and the host immune response. In 2011, Dr. Best was awarded a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for her work on flavivirus suppression of innate immune responses.