About me

I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Leeds, during which I fell in love with the study of pathogenic microorganisms, specifically virology. As a result I graduated with a MBiol, BSc in Microbiology in which my integrated master’s project involved investigating host cell factors involved in Bunyavirus replication in the Barr lab. Before deciding whether a PhD was for me, I decided to work in industry as an Associate Scientist at a start-up biotechnology company where I worked in the Kidney Development team. Here I helped design and launch a commercially available primary human podocyte drug testing platform and gained a lot of insight into how industry jobs work but also how to become a better scientist. However, I missed the freedom of academia and especially missed working with viruses so when the opportunity to undertake a virology PhD further researching Bunyaviruses, I knew it was time to switch back.

My Project

Arenaviruses are a neglected family of Bunyaviruses that can induce viral haemorrhagic fevers in humans which cause high morbidity and fatalities and are currently endemic in areas of Africa and South America. Despite the wide-reaching impact of these viruses there are no current therapeutics specific for these viruses and very little is known about the mechanisms involved in their replication cycle, especially in regards to viral factories. Viral factories are virus-induced organelles that are formed by the rearrangement of cellular components to produce an efficient area for viral replication to occur and can take two broad forms: membrane-associated or membraneless (also known as liquid-like).

Evidence is beginning to suggest that Arenaviruses may have a more liquid-like viral factory, in stark contrast to other Bunyaviruses, though this remains to be determined. My project aims to develop viral and molecular tools to investigate the existence and physical state of these factories. From here we then aim to determine viral and host factors key to viral factory function and identify areas for potential therapeutic intervention.

Connect

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kate-gilroy