Grant recipient

Jens Bukh

Basic studies unravelling the nature of antiviral resistance using innovative experimental culture and animal systems of hepatitis C virus as models

Grant amount: DKK 10,000,000

Jens Bukh says: “A growing global health problem is antiviral resistance, which arises when viruses change (or evolve) to render drugs or vaccines ineffective. But how viruses develop antiviral resistance is poorly understood, and this limits our ability to combat infections and to develop compounds impervious to resistance development. We will use hepatitis C virus (HCV), which infects 71 million people and causes 400,000 annual deaths, as a model to study the mechanisms of antiviral resistance in unprecedented detail, as the inherent capacity of HCV to evolve and escape antiviral drug pressure remains a challenge. We will determine the key viral and cellular elements and molecules of resistance development, and how they interact to confer resistance. Thus, novel concepts pursued here will define how to prevent antiviral resistance in viral infections.”