COI is a funded collaborator in iGATE, with Dr Wing contributing the Wing Group’s expertise in molecular virology.
The iGATE project is supported as part of ARIA’s Sustained Viral Resilience programme, a £57 million initiative led by Programme Director Brian Wang. The programme supports 11 research teams seeking to create a new class of medicines that provide durable, broad protection against respiratory viruses by engineering the innate immune system.
Respiratory viruses are diverse and continually evolving, making it difficult to predict which viruses will pose the greatest future threat. Rather than targeting a single virus, iGATE will develop programmable genetic circuits that can detect molecular signs of infection in respiratory cells and activate targeted antiviral defences.
The circuits are designed to remain inactive in healthy tissue and switch on only when required, helping to limit unnecessary inflammation. Researchers will combine synthetic biology with artificial intelligence to design and optimise the circuits before testing them in human airway models. The project will also develop methods for delivering the circuits without provoking unwanted immune responses.
Led by Professor Mark Coles at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, iGATE brings together researchers from across the University of Oxford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, combining expertise in immunology, respiratory infection, synthetic biology and advanced delivery technologies.
At COI, Dr Wing leads the Wing Group in Molecular Virology, which studies how viruses interact with host cells and how cellular physiology influences infection. The group focuses particularly on how oxygen sensing, cellular metabolism and the body’s early immune responses influence respiratory and emerging viral infections.
Within the collaboration, COI will contribute expertise in respiratory virology, host-cell responses and advanced infection models. This expertise will help the project assess how the engineered circuits behave during viral infection and whether they can provide effective protection without causing harmful inflammation.
Dr Wing said: “This project aims to bridge advances in synthetic biology with our understanding of how respiratory viruses interact with host cells. The Wing Group will contribute its expertise in cellular physiology, innate immune sensing and viral infection models to the evaluation of these programmable antiviral systems. I am enormously grateful for the opportunity to be part of this ambitious collaboration and for the support it will bring to COI.”
By creating a platform that can be adapted to different viruses, the iGATE team hopes to strengthen protection against respiratory infections and improve preparedness for future viral threats.
Read the full story on The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, NDORMS and The University of Oxford website.