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Armaan Somani

                                                                 Undergraduate Student, Level IV

      

     Armaan is in his fourth year of an Honours Bachelor of Science in Integrated Science (Physics) degree. While his past lab experiences have focused on biophysics, he has always been interested in virology and immunology. Learning about these subjects in his courses was the steppingstone to spark his interest in Zika virus (ZIKV).


    Armaan’s fourth-year thesis focuses on investigating how the route of ZIKV infection influences ZIKV pathogenesis and the immune response. While other flaviviruses are only transmitted through mosquito bites, ZIKV is unique because it can also be sexually transmitted between people. There is limited research on how the route of infection impacts viral replication, immune activation, and tissue tropism, which his thesis will investigate using our established ZIKV model.