Title : "Constrictor snakes as hosts for highly divergent viruses"
Contact : karim.majzoub@igmm.cnrs.fr
 
The talk :
 
Descriptions of boid inclusion body disease (BIBD) in captive collections of constrictor snakes date back to 1970s, however, it was only in 2010s when others and we discovered Arenaviruses as the causative agent of the disease, leading to expansion of the family Arenaviridae.

Our subsequent studies on BIBD led to the discovery of additional arenaviruses and a hepatitis D virus (HDV)-like agent. The talk will delivers the story behind the discovery of Reptarenaviruses, Hartmaniviruses, and an HDV-like agent.

Jussi Hepojoki’s Bio :

Jussi Hepojoki,B.Eng. inbioprocesses, MSc in biochemistry, PhD in Virology, Docent/Associate professor in Virology has over 20 years experience in academic research. He is currently affiliated to the University of Helsinki (Medical Faculty, Department of Virology) and to the University of  Zürich (VetsuisseFaculty, Institute of Veterinary Pathology). His research interests include zoonotic viruses, molecular virology, cell biology, innate and adaptive immune response,“virus hunting”, and development of novel diagnostic tools. His research works include >60 articles in international peer-reviewed scientific journals. He is a contributing member of American Society for Microbiology, the chairman of Ribozyviria and a member of Arenaviridae study group at the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, and a member of The Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) committee.