Characterizing the life cycle of Epstein-Barr virus and Ebola virus

Dr Asuka Nanbo, Professor at the Nagasaki University, has two current research projects on Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Ebolavirus (EBOV). Both viruses cause major infectious diseases in humans, including EBV-associated malignancies and EBOV disease, respectively, however the detailed mechanism of their pathogenesis remains to be fully elucidated. One of her projects is to understand the role of extracellular vesicles, exosomes released by EBV-infected cells and the other is to characterise the molecular mechanism of the distribution of phospholipids in EBOV particles. These two proposals take advantage of her diverse research experience in characterising the lifecycle of both viruses from the vantage point of host-virus interactions and her global collaborative network to identify the molecular mechanisms by which each virus causes disease, and will lead to the development of rational therapies for them.