Glasgow Team Receive Funds for Zika Virus Research

Researchers at the MRC Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow and the Research Center Aggeu Magalhães at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Pernambuco, Brazil have received around £300,000 for joint research into the Zika virus.

The main objective of the project is to study the presence and epidemiology of the Zika virus in Brazil and to understand how the immune system of people infected with the virus responds to the infection. Genetic techniques will be used to support diagnostics and vaccine development studies as well as helping to understand the biology of the Zika virus during infection.

The initiative is being led by Glasgow’s Dr Alain Kohl, alongside Professor Rafael Freitas de Oliveira Franca in Brazil and follows from an agreement by the MRC and the Foundation for Science and Technology of the state of Pernambuco (FAPERPE), to jointly fund a research proposal to investigate the viral features and host responses to Zika virus with a view to designing new preventative strategies. This agreement follows a joint call for research applications under the UK Government’s Newton Fund.

The MRC has also announced a 'Rapid Response' call for research applications aimed at tackling the risk posed by the Zika virus. Initially, up to £1 million from the Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund will be made available to researchers applying for grants to investigate the nature of the virus, its transmission and the potential links to neurological conditions including microcephaly.