About the Systems Virology Lab

We aim to fingerprint the molecular mechanisms and trajectories underlying complex human diseases caused by the RNA viruses to achieve a cure and understand and maintain wellness by using the systems biology approaches. Understanding the complex events during the acute or chronic viral infection requires holistic views, which implies capturing heterogeneous molecular profiles like transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and microbiome. We also integrate the molecular data with the clinical, demographical, lifestyle (phenomics) and environmental data. We use data and patient materials from well-defined clinical cohorts from the endemic regions to identify the disease-specific host-pathogen interactions and underlying disease severity molecular mechanisms. Using similar strategies, we also aim to understand the biological mechanism of aging during chronic viral infection to develop clinical intervention studies for healthy aging. Our ultimate aim is to develop a cure strategy for HIV/AIDS, host-directed treatment strategies for emerging viruses like severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever virus (CCHFV), and dengue viruses through metabolic engineering.