Escape Lab at the British Science Festival: a brief update

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!

European Society for Clinical Virology Conference 2022

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!

Society for Applied Microbiology New Lecturer Research Grant

We are delighted that Maitreyi has been awarded a Society for General Microbiology New Lecturer Research Grant to investigate disinfection of norovirus using a novel catalyst.

Norovirus is a pathogen that causes gastroenteritis, and is a major concern in hospitals and healthcare settings where young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals might be at risk of infections. Norovirus can persist in the environment for several weeks, and identifying effective disinfectants against the virus that minimise the likelihood of resistance development is crucial.

In this project, we will investigate the use of a novel Fenton's-like modified polyacrylonitrile catalyst to improve the biocidal activity of hydrogen peroxide against the virus. The work will be conducted in collaboration with Prof Katherine Huddersman (De Montfort University) and Prof Susannah Walsh (Robert Gordon University).