CVR's Dr Rihn awarded €1.9m from ERC Grant
Published: 23 November 2022
Centre for Virus Research Research Fellow Dr Suzannah Rihn has been awarded €1.9million in the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant scheme.
A School of Infection & Immunity Centre for Virus Research academic has been awarded €1.9million in the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant scheme.
CVR Research Fellow Dr Suzannah Rihn has received a grant from the ERC in order to improve our understanding of how new coronaviruses might be able to transmit between rodents and humans in the future.
While SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, might be the most well-known coronavirus, it is actually the third coronavirus to have emerged in humans in the last 20 years alone.
Of these three coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 causes the least severe disease, although it is the most widely spread coronavirus and its emergence highlights the urgent need to prepare for possible future coronavirus epidemics or pandemics.
Dr Rihn’s research will focus on answering questions about the potential for future coronaviruses to spill over from the animal population into the human world.
At present, seven coronaviruses are known to have circulated widely in humans. Although some of these viruses, like SARS-CoV-2, are thought to have originated in bats, some of the other coronaviruses are widely believed to have rodent origins.
Rodents also host many other coronaviruses whose potential to transmit to humans and cause future epidemics or pandemics is largely unknown.
Dr Rihn said: “Our research will seek to improve the world’s understanding of the potential for a new coronavirus transmission between rodents and humans. Ultimately, we hope this work can improve preparedness, and efforts to help prevent another devastating pandemic.
"I’m very grateful to the ERC for this funding and look forward to using our work to improve our understanding of how coronaviruses emerge in the human population.”
Dr Rihn's award brings University of Glasgow's ERC funding to from the grant scheme to €4.7m, with Dr Anna de Jong from the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and Dr Lorenza Fontana from the School of Social and Political Sciences also successful.
First published: 23 November 2022