ISAR International Society for Antiviral Research

An mRNA-based broad-spectrum antiviral inspired by ISG15 deficiency protects against viral infections in vitro and in vivo A human inborn error of immunity guided discovery and development of a prophylactic, mRNA-based antiviral.

Latest by us! An mRNA-based broad-spectrum antiviral inspired by ISG15 deficiency protects against viral infections in vitro and in vivo | Science Translational Medicine www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Assessing human liver spheroids as a model for antiviral drug evaluation against BSL-3 haemorrhagic fever viruses Haemorrhagic fever viruses (HFVs) cause highly lethal syndromes with limited therapeutic options. Increasingly, 3D cell culture models are becoming an…

Antiviral research needs new models for assessing efficacy! A new exciting paper from ISAR members evaluates human liver spheroids for hemorrhagic viruses
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

@science.org 🧫🧬❄️🔬 Molecular basis of influenza ribonucleoprotein complex assembly and processive RNA synthesis | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@yiweichang.bsky.social www.yiweichanglab.org @jiwasa.bsky.social #virology #Influenza #Cryo-EM #StructuralBiology #RNA #polymerase

PhD students in STEM: Nature wants to hear from you Buried in lab work or drowning in data? Take a break and help shape the future of PhD education.

📢 Calling PhD students 📢 we want to hear from you!

Help shape the future of PhD education. Take our survey to tell us all about your experiences

https://go.nature.com/43iJAsi

Islolation of a new merbecovirus from sick mink on a Chinese fur farm. Broad generalist species tropism including for human cells via using ACE2, not DPP4, as an entry receptor.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Mechanisms of action of repurposed Ebola virus antivirals – the roles of phospholipidosis and cholesterol homeostasis Cell-based drug repurposing screens have been a common approach to identifying compounds with antiviral properties. For Ebola virus (EBOV), such scree…

A new contribution from ISAR members:
Mechanisms of action of repurposed Ebola virus antivirals – the roles of phospholipidosis and cholesterol homeostasis  
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Overview on the management of herpes simplex virus infections: Current therapies and future directions Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) are highly prevalent, infecting approximately 64 % and 13 % of the world's population, respecti…

A review on the management of herpes infections www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A replicating RNA vaccine confers protection against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in cynomolgus macaques Our data demonstrate that our repNP vaccine and NP-specific antibody can protect against CCHFV in non-human primates.

Just published! Here we report immunogenicity and efficacy of our replicon RNA vaccine against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in a cynomolgus macaque model of #CCHFV infection. Stay tuned as we advance this candidate in clinical trials.

www.thelancet.com/journals/ebi...

Vacature: PhD position Virology The department of Viroscience at the Erasmus MC and the department of Chemical Biology & Drug discovery at Utrecht University have joined forces to identify functional glycan receptors for influenza A...

Join us! We are looking for a highly motivated PhD Student to join our teams and investigate glycan-virus interaction at @erasmusmc.bsky.social

🍬Glycans
🦠Viruses
🫁🧠Organoids
🧬 Genetic Engineering

Apply here 👇
www.werkenbijerasmusmc.nl/en/vacancy/1...

How do mpox outbreaks start? Dead baby monkey provides important clue “Landmark” study fingers fire-footed rope squirrel as a reservoir of fatal disease

Researchers have been trying for a long time to nail down where in nature mpox lurks.
Now they appear to have caught the virus that causes mpox in the act of spilling over from squirrels to monkeys.
“It is the best clue so far for what the reservoir might be”, says @kgandersen.bsky.social
#IDsky 🧪

Assistant professor Arbovirology We are looking for a passionate researcher interested in basic arbovirology to join our team!

Please share with people interested in arbovirology. We are looking for an enthusiastic colleague to strengthen our team please share if you know of scientists interested in arbovirology, ready to make a move to Rotterdam! www.academictransfer.com/en/jobs/3508...

Baloxavir improves disease outcomes in mice after intranasal or ocular infection with Influenza A virus H5N1-contaminated cow’s milk - Nature Microbiology The FDA-approved antiviral baloxavir improves disease outcomes in mice compared with oseltamivir after ocular and intranasal challenge with A(H5N1)-contaminated cow milk.

Read the full adjoining paper here:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A natural experiment on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia - Nature Using a natural experiment that avoids common bias concerns, this study finds that the live-attenuated shingles vaccine reduced the probability of a new dementia diagnosis within a follow-up period of...

Our paper on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia is now out in Nature! 🎉

Huge thanks to Felix Michalik, Seunghun Chung, @pascalge.bsky.social and especially Min Xie (@minxiesci.bsky.social) & Simon Heß (@hesss.org) making the analysis so much fun!

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Novel human coronavirus in an infant patient with pneumonia, Republic of Korea Coronaviruses (CoVs) pose a significant threat to public health, causing a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations and outcomes. Beyond precipitating global outbreaks, Human CoVs (HCoVs) are frequ...

Another zoonotic (alpha) coronavirus. Closely related to the rodent virus AcCoV-JC34 that contains a putative furin cleavage site. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Save the date! #ICAR2026

A coronavirus assembly inhibitor that targets the viral membrane protein - Nature High-throughput screening and hit optimization have led to the development of a small molecule, CIM-834, that targets the SARS-CoV-2 membrane protein and blocks assembly of the virus.

We had the chance to have a preview of this work at ICAR!
A demonstration of how phenotypic screenings and an excellent team of scientists can identify promising antivirals with a completely new mechanism of action! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#science @nature.com @neytsjohan.bsky.social

The conference is over, but the good memories remain! @leendelang.bsky.social won the prusoff award and gave an amazing lecture on how to study arboviruses with different mosquito models and the influence of skin microbiota in mosquito bites and arbovirus transmission.

#ICAR2025 #science

Today we had a very interesting session about AI in antiviral research. Small molecule discovery, mutation prediction and phenotypic screening with bright field images. Thanks to the speakers and we are looking forward to the future advancements in the field!!!
#AI #antiviral #ICAR2025

Yesterday we had an amazing lecture from @vignuzzilab.bsky.social that is what the diversity award is made for!

Bemnifosbuvir and ruzasvir in combination exhibit potent synergistic antiviral activity in vitro while maintaining a favorable nonclinical safety profile in vivo Bemnifosbuvir (BEM), the orally available hemisulfate salt of the double prodrug of a guanosine nucleotide analog, is a potent, selective, and pan-gen…

New paper out by an ISAR member lab

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Bemnifosbuvir and ruzavir are potent inhibitors of hepatitis C virus.

And act synergistically in vitro when combined.

New paper: GS-1 blocks entry of herpes viruses and more broadly inhibits enveloped viruses

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

New review on antiviral approaches targeting lipids, written by one of our society members.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

considering whether to attend the 38th annual conference on Antiviral Research (#ICAR25), the annual meeting of International Society for Antiviral Research (ISAR)?

check the outstanding program and then join us on March 17-21 in lasvegas!

Last minute registration still open:

lnkd.in/gK_iTn-u

Targeting PI4KB and Src/Abl host kinases as broad-spectrum antiviral strategy: Myth or real opportunity? Viruses pose a continuous threat to human health. Limited treatment options exist for current viruses, and the risk of infections with newly emerging …

new review article out from the Univ of Parma and Univ of Lausanne

compounds targeting the lipid kinase phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase IIIβ (PI4KB) and the tyrosine kinase proteins Src and Abl

link here:

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

First post on our new BSKY account

A heads up, you can still register for our 2025 meeting this March 17-21 in Las Vegas to meet researchers working on antivirals, coming from across the globe!

Have any cool new data? Submit a late-breaker abstract ASAP!

isaricar.wildapricot.org