Currently many emerging and re-emerging viruses lack effective vaccines and/or drug treatments. At the same time, viruses can also be explored as a type of nanomedicine for the treatment of cancers. This training program is intended to train the individual in the areas of emerging viral infectious disease as well as the development and application of viral oncolytics. The program aims to provide the trainee with basic knowledge and hands-on experience on viruses and the associated laboratory techniques that are required for the understanding of viral pathogenesis and the use of viral oncolytics as a novel treatment against human cancers.

Emerging and re-emerging viral infections threaten public health worldwide. Understanding the pathogenesis and development of vaccines and antivirals is especially important for viral infections without effective or FDA-approved immunization or specific treatments. Students working on this project will explore pathogenic mechanisms of such viral diseases, examine the underlying interplay between host factors and infection, and further develop models for antiviral screening, vaccine development, and additional public health-related applications. Oncolytic viro-immunotherapy using viruses that preferentially target and kill cancer cells represents a novel therapy. Challenges include enhancing cancer cell-targeting specificity and increasing tumor-killing efficiency. Topics include the principles and development of oncolytic viro-immunotherapy as well as strategies to enhance its efficacy and the role of immune response.

The trainee will undergo rigorous training in the basic techniques in genetic cloning, cell culture, virus culture, cell transfection, cell cytotoxicity analysis, western blotting, immunofluorescence, microscopy, flow cytometry, drug screening analysis, and oncolytic viral assays. The trainee will also learn how to develop model systems for studying emerging viral infectious diseases and engineer oncolytic vectors for oncolytic viro-immunotherapy.