Tessy Hick

Tessy Hick has been driven by curiosity to study fundamental virology questions with an applied perspective to improve human health. She earned her PhD from Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands, where she investigated the mechanism of alphavirus recombination and superinfection exclusion under supervision of Prof. Gorben Pijlman. Tessy’s work was pivotal in assessing the environmental safety of alphavirus-based self-amplifying mRNA vaccines, particularly their potential for recombination with wild-type viruses.

After completing her PhD in 2023, she started as a postdoctoral scholar in the groups of Prof. Gisa Gerold and Prof. Magnus Evander at the Clinical Microbiology Department at Umeå University. Her research focused on mutations in the alphavirus replicase genes that profoundly influence viral replication and cellular adaptation. This fundamental study provided insights into alphavirus evolution and advanced the understanding of virus-host interactions during RNA replication.

In 2025, Tessy was awarded the Cancerfonden postdoctoral grant to develop an alphavirus-based immunotherapy for precision treatment of brain tumors. This project is carried out in the group of Ass. Prof. Silvia Remeseiro at the Department of Medical and Translational Biology at Umeå University. Tessy is passionate about combining her expertise in virus replication with her interest in virus-based vectors to advance this impactful research field. 

In addition to her research, Tessy is actively involved in the academic community. She has received multiple travel awards to present her work during various scientific conferences, was a board member of the PE&RC graduate school, enjoys organizing professional events like symposia, and is deeply committed to mentoring students through courses and internships.