TSVP Talk: "Viral Origami: Structural Insights into Infectious Architectures" by Mihnea Bostina

Title: Viral Origami: Structural Insights into Infectious Architectures

Speaker: Mihnea Bostina, Otago University
 
Abstract: This seminar will trace the history of virology, detailing key breakthroughs in understanding virus structure. Viruses, with their relatively few genes devoted to structural components, employ ingenious strategies in which individual proteins often fulfil multiple roles in assembling the virion, protecting it in the environment, recognizing the host, and uncoating the genome in the right environment at the right moment. We will discuss the principles governing viral assembly, illustrating how these complex "infectious architectures" self-organize from their limited components. The talk will cover various structural strategies, from the minimalist design of picornaviruses to the elaborate machinery of bacteriophages and giant viruses. Understanding these structures is crucial for both harnessing viruses for biotechnological applications and developing effective treatments against infectious diseases.

Profile: Mihnea Bostina works in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Otago, New Zealand and is the Academic Lead of the Electron Microscopy Unit at the Otago Micro and Nano Imaging Center. Dr. Bostina obtained an MSc from The University of Bucharest, Romania, followed by a PhD in Biophysics from the Max Planck Institute and Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. He previously held positions at Harvard Medical School and McGill University before joining the University of Otago in 2013. Bostina Lab employs electron microscopy techniques to study viral structures and virus-host interactions critical for infection, focusing on oncolytic viruses like Senecavirus, SARS-related coronaviruses, bacteriophages, giant viruses, and wildlife viruses affecting endangered species.

Language: English

Target audience: General audience/everyone at OIST and beyond.
Freely accessible to all OIST members and guests without registration.

This talk will also be broadcast online via Zoom:
Zoom link
Meeting ID: 956 9362 1161
Passcode: 186019

We encourage everyone on campus to participate in person, for those who cannot the lecture will also be broadcast on zoom:
 

※ Please note that this event may be recorded and the videos uploaded. In addition, photos may be taken during the event. These are intended for publication online (the OIST website, social media, etc.)※