Leveraging human genome resources to identify novel antiviral drug targets

Funding period: 2019-2023
Lead: Paul McLaren
Total GRDI funding: $570,000

The objective of the project is to identify and validate new potential therapeutic targets by leveraging available genomics data sets. The outputs of this project are 1) a software tool that integrates large genomic data sets to identify high-priority antiviral drug targets 2) a set of standards and protocols for laboratory validation of these targets and 3) applied examples of these methods in identifying specific anti-HIV targets. Successful identification of factors dispensable to the host but essential to the pathogen that can be developed in to antivirals would have public health benefit to combating common and emerging viruses. At its completion, we anticipate that this project will lead to the development of a Full or Technology Implementation project applicable to viral models across the portfolio of the National Microbiology Laboratory.