Speaker: Qiuwei Abdullah Pan, Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, Netherlands
Host: Aftab Nadeem, Department of Molecular Biology, UCMR
Emerging viral diseases pose major public health, economic and societal challenges. To advance our understanding of the pathophysiology and develop effective interventions, experimental models are required that closely mimic human biology. In particular, organoid platforms have begun to address key limitations of 2D cell line cultures and animal models in infectious disease research. In this talk, Dr. Pan will present the diverse applications of human organoids in investigating organ-specific infections and disease manifestations across major physiological systems, as well as the applications for antiviral drug discovery. This talk will focus on representative pathogens, including hepatitis E virus, monkeypox virus, Oropouche virus and measles virus. Finally, Dr. Pan will further discuss the innovation of immune-augmented organoids for modelling complex virus-host interactions, better understanding pathophysiology, and developing multi-target therapeutics.