We are thrilled to announce that our lab has secured funding for not one, but TWO groundbreaking proposals from the Swedish Research Council! This incredible achievement brings a whopping 8.3 million SEK to fuel our innovative projects. 🎉 🎉 🎉
The first project proposal was submitted to a call for project grant within viral zoonoses. In this project, we will focus on the interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and heparan sulfate (HS). We will investigate the role of such interactions in zoonotic spillover, and their evolution as the virus adapts to humans. Coronaviruses are a diverse family of viruses with high zoonotic potential. A better understanding of the mechanisms leading to coronavirus infection and of the factors determining zoonotic spillover, virulence and transmissibility will make us better prepared to fight future emerging diseases.
The second project was submitted as a regular research project grant to a call within natural and engineering sciences (physical chemistry). In collaboration with the laboratory of Niklas Arnberg at Umeå University, we will focus on a variety of adenoviruses and on their interaction with HS at the cell surface. For some adenovirus types, this interaction is beneficial to infection while in other cases it has a decoying effect and prevents viral entry. Here, we hypothesize that the outcome of the virus-HS interaction correlates with virus dynamics at the cell surface, i.e. the virus’ ability to attach, detach, and diffuse towards its entry point. Adenoviruses are a large family of DNA viruses causing various diseases. By studying on a molecular level, how their interactions with cell-surface carbohydrates are modulated, we will gain fundamental understating of the mechanisms by which HS can promote or block infection. Such knowledge is key to understanding how and why adenoviruses infect certain cells and thus cause certain diseases. It is also central to the development of adenovirus-based vectors as well as antivirals against those pathogens.
Stay tuned for more updates as we embark on these exciting new ventures! 🌟
Text credit: Marta Bally