Viruses that infect our respiratory tract are a leading cause of severe illness, mortality and place a heavy burden on healthcare. Unfortunately, we still lack medicines for many of these viruses.
I am an associate professor in virology and head of a research group that investigates the various mechanisms that affect the severity of illness and recovery during viral infections. A better understanding of how viruses cause illness enables identification of targets for development of new treatments against respiratory viruses. We are also striving to identify mechanisms that are common for several different respiratory viruses so that a single treatment can be effective against many viruses.
For our studies on respiratory viruses, we use a 3D-lung model composed of various cells typically found in the human lung. This model is based on cells that have been isolated from several different donors. By comparing how effectively the virus infects lung models from different donors, we attempt to identify host factors that explain why people have varying susceptibility to viral infections, with the goal of being able to tailor treatments for sensitive individuals.