One of our research interests is to investigate natural product compounds to develop them as novel antivirals.
In a new feature article for the Society for Applied Microbiology magazine, the Microbiologist, Ph.D. student Gemma Cooper writes about harnessing the antiviral activities of plant-derived natural product compounds.
The article appears in the September 2022 issue of The Microbiologist, and has also been reproduced on our blog here.
We had a great time running the Escape Lab activity at the British Science Festival in Leicester on 16th September 2022.
Based on our research, this lab-themed escape room activity allowed teams of up to six to solve clues and find our new antiviral compound. Following an incredibly busy evening, with a total of 10 teams taking part, all our teams successfully found our antiviral drug - check how your team fared on the leaderboard!
Our aims were to bring our research to children and adults alike, and inspire a career in science and science-related fields. We had great engagement and overwhelmingly positive feedback, and hope to bring this activity to different venues across the UK in the near future.
If you are interested in hosting Escape Lab, or would like to learn more about the activity and our research, please do get in touch!
The ESCV conference is one of the leading conferences that brings together virologists and clinicians from across Europe and globally. The 24th ESCV Annual Conference was held on 7 - 11th September in Manchester, UK.
The conference had keynote speakers including Prof Edward Holmes (University of Sidney, Australia) and Prof Johan Neyts (KU Leuven, Belgium) highlighting the need for continued research on viruses and development of novel antivirals due to the challenges around resistance and emerging viruses. A key message was that manging viral infections and controlling pandemics require a collaborative and interdisciplinary effort.
Ph.D. student Gemma Cooper presented her research about the development of novel antivirals derived from natural product compounds. The conference offered a great opportunity to discuss the work with other virologists and clinicians. A highlight of Gemma's visit was networking with other researchers and Ph.D. students from all over the world!
