Sophie Cutts - Using Marek's Disease Virus to understand the RNA world of alphaherpesviruses
Joint studentship with the Elliott lab (University of Oxford), Section of Virology (University of Surrey) and the Viral Oncogenesis group (The Pirbright Institute).
What do you enjoy most about your PhD?
My PhD focuses on Marek's disease virus, a highly pathogenic virus of chickens, with an emphasis on understanding the activity of the virion host shutoff protein, a protein that is conserved across the alphaherpesvirus family. Partnering with both the University of Surrey and The Pirbright Institute allows me to conduct my research in both an academic and institutional setting, providing valuable opportunities to collaborate with a diverse range of researchers. This also offers extensive training opportunities to enhance my scientific development and broaden my knowledge.
Could you share details of the journey that led to your PhD, including any experiences (professional, personal or educational) that have helped shape that path?
My research interests have centred around bridging the gap between human and veterinary medicine using a One-Health, One-Medicine approach.
Before beginning my PhD, I completed my BSc (Hons) in Bioveterinary Science at the University of Lincoln. During my final year, I had the opportunity to develop a research project investigating the antimicrobial activity of plants, specifically garlic, as an alternative to antibiotics against endemic livestock bacteria.
My research interests have centred around bridging the gap between human and veterinary medicine using a One-Health, One-Medicine approach. Owing to this, I then pursued an MSc by Research under the guidance of Dr Ashley Roberts at the University of Lincoln where I developed a recombinant baculovirus system to study protein-protein interactions in feline and equine herpesviruses, and, by using an in-silico approach, identified highly conserved regions to target as cross-species drug targets across the alphaherpesvirus family.
Supervisors
- Professor Gill Elliott (University of Surrey)
- Professor André Gerber (University of Surrey)
- Dr Yongxiu Yao (The Pirbright Institute)
- Professor Venugopal Nair (The Pirbright Institute)
Infection and cellular biology Wessex One Health Doctoral Landscape Programme