Biological Sciences
Our Biological Sciences department includes specialists in virology, biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, pharmacology and bioinformatics. This multidisciplinary team of scientists strives to understand the fundamental biochemical events underlying viral disease pathology. They are responsible for identifying and characterizing new anti-viral targets for drug intervention, developing efficient and innovative methodologies for evaluating drug candidates, and analyzing the potential for the emergence of resistance to new drugs during their clinical use.
We use state-of-the-art
biological techniques to identify new viral and host proteins involved in viral
disease pathology, and to establish their role in the replication cycle of the
virus. Once biologists have identified new targets, they collaborate with
scientists in other disciplines to establish strategies to identify molecules
that will inhibit these processes. Our aim is to prevent the virus from
replicating, and then implement trials using modern, highly sensitive
technologies and robotic instrumentation to enable high throughput discovery of new inhibitors of these processes. Once new drug candidates are identified, their pharmacokinetic and
pharmaceutical properties are fully characterized. To permit the safe and secure
study of infectious human viruses, the department facilities include
state-of-the-art biological containment laboratories.
