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VIGILANT_EU

@vigilant-eu.bsky.social

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The VIGILANT project is funded by #HorizonEurope and develops broad spectrum antivirals for pandemic preparedness. Find more information at https://www.dpz.eu/en/vigilant

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VIGILANT_EU @vigilant-eu.bsky.social · Aug 25

🚨VIGILANT is developing antivirals that block cellular factors viruses depend on - proteases and Sec61.

This thread 🧵 explains why cellular proteases are attractive targets to stop viruses before they spread. 🦠🔒

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VIGILANT_EU @vigilant-eu.bsky.social · 2d

...lucky to have recruited many excellent people who share my passion for alphavirus-host interactions.

Q5 - What’s something people often misunderstand about your field?
I won’t soon forget when someone asked me if domestic poultry are a reservoir for “Chicken Gunya virus”.

VIGILANT_EU @vigilant-eu.bsky.social · 2d

Q4 - Who or what has most influenced your scientific journey?
Certainly, I've had very many wise mentors during my career, but the wonderful people who have most influenced my scientific journey are the students and postdocs that have worked in my lab over the years. I've been...

VIGILANT_EU @vigilant-eu.bsky.social · 2d

... With climate change, we can expect more outbreaks of this ‘tropical’ disease in other parts of the world, exemplified by the current chikungunya outbreak in Southern France.

VIGILANT_EU @vigilant-eu.bsky.social · 2d

Q3 - How could your research help people?
Chikungunya is a significant challenge for global health and is mostly found in low- and middle-income countries. More vaccines and antiviral drugs are desperately needed. ...

VIGILANT_EU @vigilant-eu.bsky.social · 2d

Q2 - What excites you most about your work?
Finding that sweet spot covered by the questions “What is Interesting?”, “What is Important?” and “What is Feasible?”.
If you can situate yourself in that section of the Venn diagram, then you will find your Flow.

VIGILANT_EU @vigilant-eu.bsky.social · 2d

Q1 - Put simply, what is your research about?
Interactions between viruses and cells in the first hours of infection. Particularly alphaviruses, a family including the human pathogen chikungunya virus, transmitted by mosquitos & causing a febrile disease with severe joint pain.

VIGILANT_EU @vigilant-eu.bsky.social · 2d

Gerald McInerney is the head of the McInerney Research Group. His research is primarily focussed early interactions between viruses and their host cells, using alphaviruses as model systems. Within the VIGILANT Project, his lab is primarily responsible for Chikungunya virus.

VIGILANT_EU @vigilant-eu.bsky.social · 2d

MEET THE VIGILANT TEAM
We are interviewing the staff at Project Vigilant to introduce them to you!
Meet Gerald McInerney
Professor of Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology at the Karolinska Institute

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VIGILANT_EU @vigilant-eu.bsky.social · 17d

VIGILANT theme highlighted by Stefan Pöhlmann at the 11th European Meeting on Viral Zoonoses (Saint-Raphaël, Sept 20–23, 2025). Focus: how Sec61 targeting disrupts filovirus glycoprotein function and infectivity.
#ViralZoonoses #EMVZ #SaintRaphael

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