Pluripotent Stem Cell derived Hepatocyte-like Cells as Model Systems for Infectious Disease
Models systems that allow dissection of the interplay between viral infection and host genetics are limited. Consequently the role that host genetics play in clinical disease are unclear. To address this gap, Dr. Bram and our group has developed and shown that pluripotent stem cell derived hepatocyte-like cells can be used to study infectious disease. We have used this system to study the life cycle of several hepatrophic infections. Pluripotent stem cell lines generated with a variety of genetic variants will be used to explore the impact that genetic variants play in infectious disease.
Moreover, we are developing a single cell highly multiplexed method to accurately detect and quantify viral transcription, genome and replication intermediates which can be used to determine spatial localization, viral propagation, and cell-to-cell transmission down to a single particle sensitivity.
