Monoclonal antibody therapy (MAT) is a proven method to treat those infected by a variety of pathogenic viruses. Our lab aims to understand the mechanism by which therapeutic antibodies bind to virions. Structural insights from antibody-spike binding can lead to optimized antibody cocktails, alongside new drugs. Expanding upon MAT, our lab is investigating immunoadhesins - an antibody-like class of molecules which resembles the host receptor of a virus. Binding of a viral spike with an immunoadhesin will trigger a host immune response and will stop the infection process by leading to degradation of the virus. We have applied immunoadhesin technology to lethal arenaviruses and SARS-CoV-2.
