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

Over the course of our lifetime, we are exposed to many different types of virus infections, and our own healthy cells can transform into cancer cells. Though many viruses only cause transient infection, some viruses (i.e. human cytomegalovirus (CMV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis) cause lifelong persistent infection and have great medical and socioeconomic repercussions. Natural killer (NK) cells identify and destroy cancer cells and also fight virus infection. In response to a common herpesvirus infection (CMV), NK cells adapt and become superior killers of infected cells. Our work explores how the pressures of CMV and HIV co-infection affects adaptive NK cell formation and function, and whether we can harness the potential of these adapted NK cells against virus infection or malignancies. One way NK cells recognize and kill infected or cancerous cells is by attaching to antibodies that adhere to cells. We hope to guide these superior NK cells toward infected or transformed targets using specific antibody therapy. Greater insight into the basic mechanism and biology that drives the development of NK cells with heightened activity would facilitate the progress of new strategies for therapeutic targets to control a broad range of infections and malignancies.