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

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection usually causes a life-long persistent infection in humans that can lead to irreversible liver damage and even cancer. It is estimated that the number of persons currently infected with HCV in the world is approximately 130 million individuals. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C and the only available treatment is expensive, has many side effects and is effective only in half of the infected population. Despite the progress we made in understanding the immune response against hepatitis C, we still lack a great deal of knowledge about what distinguishes a good immune response against HCV that can protect against new infections. Our previous results demonstrated that a successful immune response is characterized by an increase in the expression of molecules associated with the long-term survival of white blood cells specific for hepatitis C. In this proposal, we plan to study the early events following infection with hepatitis C. We will use novel techniques that will measure the activity of genes that are activated in individuals who can successfully clear Hepatitis C infection without the need for therapy. This will help us develop methods to predict early whether someone will clear the virus or not. Defining this successful immune response profile will set the ultimate characteristic that should be achieved by new vaccines and should be used as a measure of their efficacy and success.