Dr Reena Ghildyal
Assistant Professor in Comparative Physiology
Convenor, Research Students Program (BMS)
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University of Canberra Building 3, Room D51 - [Campus Map] Phone: (02)6201 5755 |
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Education
PhD, Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, 1992
MSc, Biochemistry, Northeastern Hill University, Shillong, India, 1985
BSc, Biology, Lucknow University, Lucknow, India, 1982
Research and Professional Interests
The overarching research interest of Reena’s group research is in elucidating the molecular mechanisms that underlie respiratory virus pathogenesis and disease. Viruses often appropriate and/or disrupt regulatory mechanisms of the infected host cell to ensure the appropriate localization of viral proteins, and mislocalization of cellular proteins, with consequent increased virus replication/pathogenesis and inhibited host antiviral response. Reena’s group use two respiratory viruses of medical importance, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and rhinovirus (RV) as models to study the importance of regulated subcellular localization of proteins in pathogenesis. The ultimate aim is to exploit this basic information either to identify new targets for the development of urgently needed antivirals or to assist in generating attenuated virus for vaccine approaches. Reena has highly productive collaborations with national and international research groups that are world leaders in their field.
Previous work in the group has resulted in several seminal discoveries, e.g., the demonstration that RV can infect subepithelial fibroblast cells, a finding that has led to a paradigm shift in our view of RV infection of the airways; the demonstration matrix protein of RSV has a role in virus pathogenesis in addition to virus assembly, resulting in a change in the research direction.
Reena also has a close association with Fudan University in Shanghai, where she holds an adjunct faculty appointment and organises scientific meetings designed to facilitate increased research collaboration in infectious diseases between Australian and Chinese groups.
Teaching Interests
Reena teaches undergraduate students in the third year, convening Pathobiology in the first semester, and teaching into Clinical Microbiology (semester 1) and Integrated Studies of Disease (semester 2). Reena also teaches in the Undergraduate unit of Research into Applied Science.
Reena supervises postdoctoral fellows, Honours and postgraduate (M.Sc, PhD) students working on the pathogenesis of respiratory viruses with special reference to implications for asthma. Current projects within the group include the validation of RSV vaccine candidates in vitro and in vivo; elucidating the role of cytoskeleton in RSV assembly, investigating the role of RV proteases in disease, elucidating the molecular and epigenetic changes that underlie the asthma phenotype.
Recent Publications
Yu, XL, Ghildyal, R. 2011. Measles virus infection: mechanisms of immune suppression; in “Immunosuppression”, InTech, October 2011.
Younessi, P, Jans DA, Ghildyal, R. 2011. Modulation of Host Cell Nucleocytoplasmic Trafficking During Picornavirus Infection. Infectious Diseases – Drug Targets. In press.
Ghildyal, R, Ho, A, Dias, M, Soegiyono, L, Bardin, PG, Tran, KC, Teng, MN, Jans, DA. (2009). The Respiratory Syncytial Virus Matrix Protein Possesses 1 a Crm1-Mediated Nuclear Export Mechanism. Journal of Virology, 83:5353.
Ghildyal, R, Jordan, B, Li D, Dagher H, Bardin, PG, Gern JE, Jans, DA. (2009). Rhinovirus 3C Protease can Localise in the Nucleus and Alter Active and Passive Nucleocytoplasmic Transport. Journal of Virology, 83:7349.
Thomas, B, McDonald, M, Ghildyal, R, Bardin, PG. (2009). Rhinovirus, Allergy and Asthma - What are some of the Key Questions? Current Allergy & Clinical Immunology, 22:162.
Thomas BJ, Lindsay M, Dagher H, Freezer NJ, Li D, Ghildyal R, Bardin PG. (2009). Transforming growth factor-ß enhances rhinovirus infection by diminishing early innate responses. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, 41:339.
Li D, Jans DA, Bardin PG, Meanger J, Mills J, Ghildyal R. (2008). Association of respiratory syncytial virus M protein with viral nucleocapsids is mediated by the M2-1 protein. Journal of Virology. 82:8863.
Yu X, Cheng Y, Shi B, Qian F, Wang F, Liu X, Yang H, Xu Q, Qi T, Zha L, Yuan Z, Ghildyal R. (2008). Measles virus infection in adults induces production of IL-10 and is associated with increased CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells. Journal of Immunology, 181:7356.
Yu X, Wang S, Guan J, Mahemuti, Purhati, Gou A, Liu Q, Jin X, Ghildyal R. (2007). Analysis of the cause of increased measles incidence in Xinjiang, China in 2004. Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal. 26:513.
Yu X, Qian F, Sheng Y, Xie D, Li D, Huang Q, Zhang Y, Yuan Z, Ghildyal R. (2007). Clinical and Genetic characterization of measles viruses isolated from adult patients in Shanghai in 2006. Journal of Clinical Virology. 40:146.
Ghildyal R, Ho A and Jans D. (2006). Central role of the respiratory syncytial virus matrix protein in infection. FEMS Microbiology Reviews. 30:692.