Hepatitis

2023 Emerging Leaders Prize - 2nd Place Winner, £70,000: Dr Azim Ansari, Group Leader, University of Oxford

Dr Azim Ansari’s research involves integrating host and virus genomic data to gain a deeper understanding of molecular interactions by identifying genetic variations in the host and virus that are associated with each other.

The Emerging Leaders Prize will enable Dr Ansari to expand his research by generating genome-wide transcriptomics data from 200 liver biopsies of individuals infected with HCV. This dataset represents the largest of its kind worldwide and provides a unique opportunity to study the antiviral responses of the host within the liver tissue itself.

By combining the liver transcriptomic data with clinical information, as well as host and virus genomic data, Dr Ansari’s research aims to achieve the following objectives:

• Investigate the impact of HCV infection on liver gene expression and understand how variations in host and virus genetic factors contribute to the variability in gene expression patterns.
• Explore the B and T cell receptor repertoires within the HCV-infected liver and examine their associations with clinical outcomes.
• Conduct a transcriptome-wide association study to identify gene expressions that are associated with clinical phenotypes.

The insights gained from this study could potentially inform the design of vaccines for HCV infection and Dr Ansari's research has the potential to lead to more effective therapies, especially in hard-to-treat groups, as HCV treatment becomes more available globally.

This poster created by Dr Ansari shows more on his career and research.