Identification of common cellular factors shared between Coronaviruses infecting livestock and human hosts.

Supervisors: Dr Rob Noad rnoad@rvc.ac.uk, Professor Dirk Werling  (Dwerling@RVC.AC.UK ) 

Summary:

Coronaviruses belong to a family of viruses causing respiratory and enteric diseases in mammalian and avian hosts. In humans, different coronaviruses are associated with the emerging SARS and MERS syndromes, and around 15-30% of cases of the common cold. In livestock, the coronavirus Porcine epidemic Diarrhoea virus (PEDV) has recently re-emerged as a major pathogen of pigs. This project will compare the cellular proteins that control the replication of PEDV with those recently reported to affect replication of human coronaviruses. The overall aim of the project is to identify common cellular pathways involved in the replication of diverse coronaviruses. The project will be laboratory based in the RVC Centre for Emerging Endemic and Exotic Diseases and will provide training in molecular virology and gene regulation (gene over expression and knock down) approaches.

Reference:

de Wilde AH, Wannee KF, Scholte FE, Goeman JJ, Ten Dijke P, Snijder EJ, Kikkert M, van Hemert MJ. A Kinome-Wide Small Interfering RNA Screen Identifies Proviral and Antiviral Host Factors in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Replication, Including Double-Stranded RNA-Activated Protein Kinase and Early Secretory Pathway Proteins. J Virol. 2015 Aug 15;89(16):8318-33. doi: 10.1128/JVI.01029-15.

If you would like to apply for this studentship please contact the supervisors in the first instance and then apply via UKPASS. See also the How to Apply box

The deadline for applications is 3rd April 2016