Project Reference: TRG27-GEN-AH1

Project title: Systematic study of cell cycle disruptors across the virosphere 

Project outline

Viruses cannot reproduce without the help of a host cell. They therefore manipulate the processes through which cells grow and divide, collectively known as the cell cycle, to obtain the materials required to make new copies of themselves. Each virus family has evolved its own way of achieving this, although some families have independently homed in on the same mechanisms—a process called convergent evolution. For many viruses, although we know that they must manipulate the cell cycle, we do not yet know how they do so, which viral genes are involved, or which host-cell proteins are targeted. 

This PhD will provide the first systematic survey of viral manipulators of the cell cycle. The student will use methods from systems biology and virology to gain fundamental insights into virus–host evolution across the tree of life. 

Principal Supervisor

Dr Antoine Hocher

Email address: ah2368@cam.ac.uk

Department / Partner Institute: Genetics

Website: https://mimiclab.uk

BBSRC strategic theme

Understanding the rules of life