Impact of Mucus Gels on Cellular Susceptibility to Respiratory Virus Infections

2023.6 - Present.

I have initiated preliminary studies for my PhD project focused on the impact of mucus gels on cellular susceptibility to respiratory virus infection by developing an Airway-on chip model. This has involved me learning the technique of cell culture and microfluidic development in collaboration with the other laboratories in the Department of Bioengineering.

The next project stages hope to use our platform to study infection using wildtype virus systems in collaboration with collaboration.

For my forthcoming PhD projec we plan to refine and characterize the advanced set-up enabling us to conduct in-depth host cell susceptibility and viral viability tests under a range of microenvironments, using climate-controlled chambers. This advancement sets the stage for multifaceted research including exploring mucin barriers’ effects on host cell mechanics and susceptibility, assessing mucin’s role in viral behavior, and evaluating antiviral therapy efficacy, among other areas.