Environmental and Biomedical Viruses: applications of bacteriophages and other viruses in global health - EnBiVir

Reference of the Group:

GIUV2020-485

 
Description of research activity:

The Environmental and Biomedical Viruses Lab is located at the Insitute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio, UV-CSIC). Research at the EnBiVir lab is focused in the isolation and detection of viruses in nature with biomedical applications. Environmental virology, viral emergence, virus evolution, and phage discovery in the biomedical context, are the main research lines. Phages are ubiquitous in the environment and immensely diverse, making phage discovery a powerful source of new therapies against pathogenic bacteria, due to the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains. In addition, the lab is interested in environmental epidemiology, mainly in SARS-CoV-2 detection in wastewater and other natural environments, as a tool for monitoring populations and as early detection tool in surveillance. In addition, the group is interested in translational research, and has transfer contracts with national companies with biomedical and biotech purposes.

 
Web:
 
Scientific-technical goals:
  • Environmental virology, viral emergence, virus evolution, and phage discovery and biomedical applications.
 
Research lines:
  • Viral environmental epidemiology.Monitoring natural and anthropogenic environments for disease surveillance, specially viral outbreaks. Detection of emerging viruses in natural environments and development of quantification techniques for population monitoring. Study of new transmission routes of emerging viruses.
  • Biomedical applications of phages.Biomedical applications of bacteriophages, including diagnosis, prevention, and therapy, as an alternative tool against multidrug-resistant bacteria. Isolation and characterisation of novel phages, directed evolution for phage optimisation, resistant emergence, and nanotechnology.
 
Group members:
Name Nature of participation Entity Description
PILAR DOMINGO CALAPDirectorUniversitat de València
Research team
MIREIA BERNABEU GIMENOCollaboratorUniversitat de València
MIREIA BERNABEU GIMENOCollaboratorUniversitat de València - CSICexternal researcher - mixed centre
CELIA FERRIOL GONZALEZCollaboratorUniversitat de València
MARCO PARDO FREIRECollaboratorUniversitat de València
Javier Enrique Cañada GarcíaCollaboratorInstituto de Salud Carlos IIItrainee research staff
Felipe Manuel Fernández CuencaCollaboratorFundación Pública Andaluza para la Gestión de la Investigación en Salud de Sevillaphisician
Silvia García CobosCollaboratorInstituto de Salud Carlos IIIresearcher
 
CNAE:
  • -
  • -
 
Associated structure:
  • Institute for Biological Systems Integration (I2SYSBIO)
 
Keywords:
  • epidemiology, virus, surveillance, environment, viral emergence, outbreaks
  • bacteriophage, phage therapy, evolution, resistance, nanotechnology