Research
We are a molecular virology lab interested in pandemic viruses (and viruses with pandemic potential). Our lab is seamlessly linked with our long-term collaborator Suzannah Rihn and we share lab space with her group. Our research focuses on the molecular details of the evolutionary journey taken by viruses that enables them to emerge in humans (or hinders them from doing so). This is important because the way viruses have adapted to their animal hosts impacts the ease with which these viruses can infect humans and how pathogenic they are when they do.
Through our research, we strive to understand the molecular explanation of why viruses thrive in some situations but are unable to infect or replicate in others. Crucially, individual innate immune defences can constrain the emergence or pathogenesis of pandemic viruses and have a major influence on global health and prosperity. Our core belief is that understanding the molecular interactions that underpin viral replicative success, or failure, will transform our understanding of virus emergence, viral transmission, and viral pathogenesis. We focus on the ability of viruses to replicate in cells from new hosts or endure in the face of activated antiviral defences. Where possible, we integrate our in vitro observations with animal model, patient, population and species level data. We work with many viruses, but we currently focus on pandemic viruses including influenza A viruses and coronaviruses.
In the future, understanding the defences that constrain emergence and pathogenesis will help us predict which viruses are likely to emerge in human populations and inform the design of new interventions and therapeutics.
Publications
Lytras S, Wickenhagen A, Sugrue E, Stewart DG, Swingler S, Sims A, Ireland HJ, Davies EL, Ludlam EM, Li Z, Hughes J, Wilson SJ. 2023. Resurrection of 2′-5′-oligoadenylate synthetase 1 (OAS1) from the ancestor of modern horseshoe bats blocks SARS-CoV-2 replication. PLoS Biol. 21, e3002398
Pinto RM, Bakshi S, Lytras S, Zakaria MK, Swingler S, Worrell JC, Herder V, Varjak M, Cameron-Ruiz N, Collados-Rodriguez M, Varela M, Wickenhagen A, Loney C, Pei Y, Hughes J, Valette E, Turnbull ML, Furnon W, Hargrave KE, Gu Q, Orr L, Taggart A, Boutell C, Grey F, Hutchinson E, Digard P, Monne I, Wootton SK, MacLeod MKL, Wilson SJ, Palmarini M. 2023. Zoonotic avian influenza viruses evade human BTN3A3 restriction. Nature.
Wickenhagen A, Sugrue E, Lytras S, Kuchi S, Noerenberg M, Turnbull ML, Loney C, Herder V, Allan J, Jarmson I, Cameron-Ruiz N, Varjak M, Pinto RM, Lee JY, Iselin L, Palmalux N, Stewart DG, Swingler S, Greenwood EJD, Crozier TWM, Gu Q, Davies EL, Clohisey S, Wang B, Trindade Maranhao Costa F, Freire Santana M, de Lima Ferreira LC, Murphy L, Fawkes A, Meynert A, Grimes G, The ISARIC Investigators, Da Silva Filho JL, Marti M, Hughes J, Stanton RJ, Wang ECY, Ho A, Davis I, Jarrett RF, Castello A, Robertson DL, Semple MG, Openshaw PJM, Palmarini M, Lehner PJ, Baillie JK, Rihn SJ, Wilson SJ. 2021. A prenylated dsRNA sensor protects against severe COVID-19. Science. 374:eabj3624.
Rihn SJ, Merits A, Bakshi S, Turnbull ML, Wickenhagen A, Alexander AJT, Baillie C, Brennan B, Brown F, Brunker K, Bryden SR, Burness KA, Carmichael S, Cole SJ, Cowton VM, Davies P, Davis C, De Lorenzo G, Donald CL, Dorward M, Dunlop JI, Elliott M, Fares M, da Silva Filipe A, Freitas JR, Furnon W, Gestuveo RJ, Geyer A, Giesel D, Goldfarb DM, Goodman N, Gunson R, Hastie CJ, Herder V, Hughes J, Johnson C, Johnson N, Kohl A, Kerr K, Leech H, Lello LS, Li K, Lieber G, Liu X, Lingala R, Loney C, Mair D, McElwee MJ, McFarlane S, Nichols J, --27 authors--, Alessi DR, Patel AH, Zaid A, Wilson SJ, Mahalingam S. 2021. A plasmid DNA-launched SARS-CoV-2 reverse genetics system and coronavirus toolkit for COVID-19 research. PLoS Biol. 19:e3001091.
Shaw AE, Hughes J, Gu Q, Behdenna A, Singer JB, Dennis T, Orton RJ, Varela M, Gifford RJ, Wilson SJ, Palmarini M. 2017. Fundamental properties of the mammalian innate immune system revealed by multispecies comparison of type I interferon responses. PLoS Biol. 15:e2004086.
Teaching and Supervisions
Wilson Lab Group Members:
Yingxue Wang - yw715@cam.ac.uk
Yongtao He – yh556@cam.ac.uk
Lianne Wu – lw777@cam.ac.uk
Zhuonan Li – zl577@cam.ac.uk