In collaborative projects, SCTL scientist study important questions around Zika virus (ZIKV) biology such as identifying new receptors that render human neural stem cells vulnerable to infection. The stem cell field has focused on neural stem cells for ZIKV research, since infection with the virus during pregnancy leads to microcephaly in newborns. One ongoing project will determine optimal high-throughput procedures for ZIKV infection of neural stem cells and genome-wide RNAi screening to elucidate protective mechanisms and pathways.

Image: Transmission electron micrograph of Zika virus, digitally colorized, with virus particles, 40 nm in diameter, in blue. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

To learn more about ongoing SCTL projects, visit our Projects page.