Research: Oropouche virus (OROV) is a rapidly emerging arbovirus that clinically presents as Oropouche fever, an acute febrile illness that can lead to severe encephalitis, hemorrhagic manifestations, and death. Vertical transmission has been reported and is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes (e.g. miscarriage, stillbirth, and congenital microcephaly). However, the early OROV-host interactions that govern vertical transmission are ill-defined. My research in the Gale lab focuses on characterizing the transcriptional responses of PRRs (e.g. RIG-I-like receptors), interferons, interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), and inflammatory mediators during OROV infection in human trophoblast stem cells. Overall, I aim to elucidate which innate immune sensing pathways and trophoblast-intrinsic cytokine programs are sufficient to restrict OROV infection.
