Professor Dave O'Connor – From AIDS to ZIKV: Understanding Zika virus pathogenesis

Event date
Tuesday 11th April 2017
Event time
1:00 PM
Event address
Berg Family Foundation Seminar Room, Level 6, Wallace Wurth Building, UNSW Australia, Sydney

Location:

Berg Family Foundation Seminar Room, Level 6, Wallace Wurth Building, UNSW Sydney

Cost

Free

Contact for enquiries 

Rata Joseph, +61 (2) 9385 0900 or rjoseph@kirby.unsw.edu.au

 

Professor Dave O'Connor

Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

 

About your speaker

Professor Dave O'Connor received his BS from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he has remained since getting his degree in 2001. He is a UW Medical Foundation Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine as well as the Associate Director of the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center. His laboratory studies the interplay of RNA virus pathogenesis, immunity, and host genomics. He lives in Madison, WI with his wife Shelby, son Eli, and neurotic greyhound Fozzie.

Read more: Dave O'Connor's Laboratory
Follow on Twitter: @dho@dho_lab

 

Abstract

The emergence of Zika virus in South America was accompanied by a surge in birth defects. Why did this happen? What can be done to minimise the risk to expectant mothers? Our group developed the first monkey model to study Zika virus in pregnancy, in which we showed that the virus persists for an unexpectedly long time in the blood. I will share our results as well as provide my perspective on performing research in the midst of a new viral public health emergency.