Experience

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  Max f. perutz laboratories

  Apr 2015 - Sept 2016

  Master thesis student

  Rhinoviruses are the major causative agents of the upper respiratory tract infections which cause the common cold. Upon infection, virus is internalized by receptor-mediated endocytosis. Receptor binding and/or acidification of the early endosomes trigger conformational modifications of the native virus into the subviral A-particle. This particle attaches to the inner surface of endosomes generating a small pore through which the genomic RNA is released into the cellular cytoplasm. These modifications allow certain antibodies to bind specifically to antigens of the different viral conformations. To visualize the current internalization process in vitro, different antibodies are available, which allow detection of the virus via immunofluorescence. Unfortunately, there is no antibody available yet which binds specifically to the A-particle and allows its detection by fluorescence microscopy. The first part of the thesis focused on finding such an antibody. The agent niclosamide hinders acidification of the early endosome; therefore, no A-particle can be generated. This manipulation of the pathway is used to generate information about the antibodies’ specificity. To investigate the speed and the direction of the movement of the viral RNA through the pore in the shell of the subviral particle, intermediate forms of the virion with partially released RNA were generated in vivo by infecting HeLa cells (part 2). A-particles can also be generated in vitro by using low pH buffer (part 3). In both cases the uncoating process was stopped at different times, the part of the viral RNA that had been released was digested and these intermediate A-particles were isolated by immunoprecipitation. The unreleased viral RNA strand was analyzed via RT-PCR and RT-qPCR by using a set of different primers binding to different positions on the viral genome. The length of the viral RNA remaining intact can be distinguished and compared with the full-length genome of the native virus. Show less

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  Cemm

  Dec 2017 - Jul 2019

  Technical assistant

  Group Robert Kralovics

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  Medizinische universität wien

  Aug 2019 - May 2020

  Lab manager - technical assistant

  Group Robert Kralovics

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  Boehringer ingelheim

  Sept 2020 - now

  Lab scientist

  Dept. Cancer Immunology & Immune Modulation Research