A unique research partnership between the University of Lethbridge and the University of Calgary has Dr. Vanessa Meier-Stephenson using Highway 2 as a pathway to developing a greater understanding of the hepatitis C virus, and potential new therapeutics to combat the infectious disease.
Supported by a CanHepC Network Post-doctoral Fellowship, Meier-Stephenson is utilizing the laboratory expertise of the U of L’s Dr. Trushar Patel in collaboration with UCalgary’s Dr. Carla Coffin as she explores how the Hepatitis C virus hijacks one of our cell’s proteins responsible for the virus’s replication, liver disease and cancer-causing pathways.
The hepatitis C virus affects more than 71 million people worldwide and is linked to liver diseases and liver cancers.
“We actually have a lot of great drug therapies for people who are affected by hepatitis C but there are still a lot of unanswered questions about this virus in terms of how it causes liver diseases and how it leads to some of the different cancers that we see,” says Meier-Stephenson. “I will be analyzing the interaction between the virus and the cell protein using various biochemical, biophysical and cell culture techniques in order to determine the specifics of the interaction, including its 3D-structural basis.”
Continue reading at University of Lethbridge.
Image via University of Lethbridge.