Faculty Details

The FAV lab focuses on both fundamental and translational aspects of virus research.

Host-pathogen interactions: Our group deals with host-pathogen interactions with particular focus on flaviviruses (Ex: Dengue virus) and respiratory viruses (Ex: Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)). Our primary objective is to generate basic knowledge in virus-host interactions that can be harnessed for vaccine and drug development. Focus areas of research include: i) Identifying cellular signalling pathways and protein trafficking components that play an essential role at various stages of viral life-cycle, ii) Understanding the interactions between cellular permeability barriers and viral infections

Antiviral development: We are focusing on drug repurposing efforts and have identified some of the FDA-approved drugs that inhibit dengue and RSV infection in vitro and also in animal models. We are collaborating with synthetic chemistry groups to generate novel derivatives and testing for antiviral activity. We are now funded by Open Philanthropy to establish screening assays for Nipah and Hendra viruses.

Clinical studies: Over the last few years, we have established hospital-based and community-based cohorts and used multi-omics approaches to:

• identify immunological and cellular pathways that associate with disease severity in pediatric dengue patients.
• identify factors affecting replication fitness of dengue virus
• characterize the kinetics of immune response upon natural exposure to dengue and identify correlates of protection

Publications

Please click this link for complete list of publications
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/guruprasad.medigeshi.2/bibliography/public/

Collaborations

• Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad
• International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi
• Christian Medical College, Vellore
• All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
• India Institute of Science, Bangalore