Laboratory of Zoonotic Viruses and Comparative Immunology
Understanding zoonotic viruses through research to develop countermeasures
Welcome to the laboratory of Dr. Arinjay Banerjee, Canada Research Chair in Zoonotic Virus and Animal Reservoirs and Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Emerging Leader.
We are located at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), University of Saskatchewan, Canada. In the Laboratory of Zoonotic Viruses and Comparative Immunology, we develop studies on emerging zoonotic viruses, such as coronaviruses, and the innate immune response that is generated against invading viruses. Research within the laboratory focuses on three main themes.
(1) Virus-host interaction in wildlife reservoir species, such as bats, with a specific focus on comparative antiviral innate and intrinsic immunity against emerging zoonotic viruses.
(2) Virus-host interaction in spillover species, such as humans. We use a combination of primary and immortalized cell lines, air-liquid cultures, organoid models, functional multi-omics platforms, and in vivo models to investigate how zoonotic viruses cause disease and suppress protective human antiviral immune response.
(3) Viral vaccine and therapeutic development. We harness data from our virus-host interaction studies to inform the development of next generation countermeasures against emerging zoonotic viruses.