Welcome to the McGill Centre for Viral Diseases
Providing solutions to viral diseases that threaten public health by advancing research, education, and patient care through interdisciplinary efforts.
Newsroom (March 31 2020)
Tackling more COVID questions
McGill medical experts returned for a follow up webcast to address an ever-growing range of questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on us as individuals and as a community.
Dr. Marcel Behr, Co-Director, McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity (Mi4) and Interim Director of McGill Infectious Diseases Division
Dr. Timothy Evans, Inaugural Director and Associate Dean of the School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine
Newsroom (Feb 5 2020)
Coronavirus in context
Separating facts from fiction with McGill experts
In this special online discussion, two of McGill’s leading health experts discuss the risks, challenges and long-term outlook surrounding the novel coronavirus outbreak. With: Dr. Timothy Evans, Inaugural Director and Associate Dean of the School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine Dr. Chen Liang, Interim Director of the McGill AIDS Centre and member of the McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity Scientific Advisory Committee.
Featured Publication
A moonlighting microRNA enhances hepatitis C virus RNA accumulation
Selena M. Sagan’s Lab discovered that a human liver-specific microRNA, termed miR-122, enhances viral RNA accumulation of Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Together with Argonaute (Ago), miR-122 protects HCV RNA genome from cellular degradation and enhances translation from viral internal ribosome entry site. This work expands our knowledge of microRNA function and provides a novel example of how HCV takes advantage of the liver microenvironment to accumulate in cells. To find out more, check out: Amador-Cañizares Y et al. NAR 2018 and Chahal J et al. NAR 2019.
Acknowledging Dr. Wainberg
“When I look back on my career, I always feel that the most important contribution of my life was political and not scientific” -- Mark Wainberg, 1945-2017
In 1990 a group of McGill researchers, led by Dr. Mark Wainberg, came together to form the McGill AIDS Centre. They were united in their resolve to find solutions to the devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic. At the time, only 9 years after the first case of AIDS had been reported, 10 million people were already infected with HIV globally. There was no effective treatment available, morbidity and mortality from AIDS were rapidly increasing, and HIV-infected people were highly stigmatized.