Jean-Pierre Vartanian

The Department’s research aims at understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying viral infections and their associated diseases. In the mean time, teams are developping innovative tools for virus discovery, diagnostics , therapeutics & vaccinology. A large effort is made to decipher virus/host interactions and physio-pathological events . Research activities include studies of transmission through animal reservoirs or vectors, viral epidemiology, evolution and host immune responses. Our goal is to remain at the cutting edge of basic research, providing discoveries that can be translated into solutions to address global public health challenges linked to emerging and re-emerging viruses. In this regard, the department houses different Naional Reference Centres and WHO Collaborating Centres (WHOCCs) for viruses and work in close collaboration with the 33 Institut Pasteur around the world.

VIRUSES & RESEARCH AREAS

Viruses under studies, include

Respiratory viruses such as Influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and the recent emerging SARS-CoV-2 virus;
Retroviruses (HIV, HTLV and foamy viruses along with their simian counterparts ;
Arboviruses : flaviviruses (yellow fever, dengue and Zika), alphaviruses (such as Chikungunya) , bunyaviruses;
Picornaviruses, Rhabdoviruses and Paramyxoviruses such as measles and parainfluenza viruses;
Enteroviruses (poliovirus, Coxsachie virus, rhinovirus, enterovirus 71)
Oncogenic viruses (papillomaviruses, hepatitis B and C viruses);
Highly pathogenic agents such as Ebola, Lassa and Nipah viruses are studied in the frame of the biosafety level 4 facilities in Lyon, France.

Our research focus on

Virus structure
Molecular & cellular mechanisms of the viral cycle: cell entry, viral uncoating, genome replication, particle assembly, egress.
Transmission between hosts into their environment – zoonoses /animal reservoirs ; vectors, entomology
Dissemination within the organism (crossing of anatomical barriers)
Virus -Host interactions : host metabolism upon infection, restriction factors, immunity, viral escape, persistence
Pathogenesis , such as cancer; immunodeficiency; neurological, respiratory, enteric and hepatic diseases
Population genetics and viral dynamics : molecular and clinical epidemiology, phylogeny studies, virus & host genomics and transcriptomics, determinants of virus and host susceptibility or resistance, adaptation and evolution.