Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

RNA viruses cause the vast majority of viral diseases in humans and throughout history, are responsible for many catastrophic events. For instance, more people died as a result of the 1918 influenza pandemic than in World War 1. Even in the vaccine era, RNA virus infections still cause disease in hundreds of millions of people each year resulting in millions of deaths. While vaccination against some RNA viruses has met with great success, with the exception of HIV and some influenza strains, effective therapeutic treatments for most viral diseases are non-existent. The key to developing effective anti-viral treatments is through understanding how RNA viruses manipulate human cells during infection. Using Rubella virus as a model system, my research goal is to elucidate how RNA virus capsid proteins block anti-viral pathways that are meant to limit virus replication. In doing so, I hope to understand the nature of viral diseases as well as identify new targets for anti-viral therapy.