Dr. Joyce Wilson, PhD
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Responsibilities:
♦ Scientist: Hepatitis C virus-host interactions (project leader)
♦ Member: Faculty, College of Graduate Studies and Research
♦ Assistant Professor: Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Education:
♦ PhD, Queen’s University, Kingston
♦ MSc. Queen’s Univeristy, Kingston
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Current Research Interests:
1. We are interested in determining the molecular mechanism by which Argonaute promotes HCV translation and/or replication.
2. We are investigating the roles in HCV replication of proteins upstream and downstream of Argonaute in the miRNA pathway
3. By characterizing essential virus/host interactions, we are interested in designing novel antiviral therapies
4. Investigating the use of siRNA as an antiviral therapy
Major Accomplishments:
1. Identified that Argonaute 2 plays a role in the replication of the hepatitis C virus
2. One of the first to identify the antiviral activity of virus-specific siRNA on HCV replication in cell culture. The technology was subsequently patented by ourselves and our co-authors.
3. Determined the propensity for HCV to escape down-regulation by siRNA and also showed that through the use of multiple siRNA, viral escape can be significantly reduced
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