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

Every day, millions of people worldwide get infected with new viral infections, which have a major impact on global health. According to the World Health Organization, infectious diseases are the leading cause of death on Earth, claiming 13.75 million people each year. The current influenza A H1N1 and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemics, and the emergence of new pathogens such as the Ebola virus serve as important reminders of the need for strong investment in research into the development of vaccines and other antiviral therapies. A thorough understanding of pathogen-host interactions during viral infections is of utmost importance in the viral immunology field. The immune system uses defence elements that interact together for productive immunity to develop. Macrophages are a group of cells that form part of the immune system and are the first line of defence against invading viruses. They are also involved in the regulating many parameters in the immune response, that eventually affect immune memory responses, resembling what occurs in vaccination. Macrophages are able to acquire different activation states in response to their environment, in a process termed polarization. Currently we have limited knowledge concerning how polarization influences the immune response to viral infections. Studies using HIV showed that certain activation states are able to prevent viral infection of cells, while others are able to stop viral replication inside the cells. However, the mechanism through which polarized macrophages are able to induce this resistance is unknown. Our aim during my research project is to understand how polarization influences the initiation of cellular mechanisms that regulate an adequate immune response. We foresee that the knowledge gained from studying how macrophages regulate host defences against viral infections will provide important concepts to help in the development of new therapeutic approaches that alleviate viral-induced ill health.