Grant: CIHR/Regional Partnership Program/Operating Grants

Respiratory diseases are one of the leading causes of disease and mortality, with several classes of viruses directly responsible for millions of childhood deaths annually. Infections with these types of agents also appear to be a primary cause of childhood asthma. In addition to the enormous World-wide mortality burden, societal economic losses from respiratory diseases are massive, with an estimated $ 1 billion in national economic burden annually in Canada alone. This research will examine a common respiratory virus, influenza, in order to better understand how the virus affects relevant human lung cells. A two-pronged approach will be used; one component will measure how each of thousands of cellular proteins respond to influenza infection. The other component will determine which cellular proteins are not required by the cell, but are required by the virus. These studies are expected to help create novel anti-viral strategies, which would be extremely beneficial to human health.