Pontus Öhlund

Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are some of the globally most important pathogens causing disease in both human and animal populations. Examples of these are West Nile virus (WNV), Zika virus, dengue virus (DENV) and louping ill virus. Of all arboviruses that cause human disease over ninety percent are vectored by mosquitoes and with increasing temperatures, urbanisation and global trade, the geographic range of key mosquito species have expanded with associated increase in arbovirus disease burden. The majority of arboviruses lack licensed drugs and vaccines which have cause an urgent need of new tools for disease control. In recent years, researchers have looked at new options to reduce the circulation and transmission of viruses by mosquitos, such as genetically modified mosquitoes and manipulation of the microbiome in the mosquito to enhance the antiviral resistance.

I’m a PhD-student at the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Section of Virology and my PhD project have the goals to:

·      Characterise the virome of Swedish mosquitoes.

·      Genetically and biologically characterise ISVs of one important viral family (Flaviviridae) and determine their effect on the vectors cellular processes and immune response. 

·      Determine the vector response to WNV infection both on transcript and protein level

·      Investigate the effect of ISVs on vector competence for WNV and elucidate the mechanisms behind these effects.

Main supervisor: Anne-Lie Blomström (BVF, SLU)

Co-supervisors: Jenny Hesson (IMBIM, Uppsala university), Juliette Hayer (HGEN, SLU), Mikael Berg (BVF, SLU)

Öhlund P, Lundén H, Blomström AL. Insect-specific virus evolution and potential effects on vector competence. Virus Genes. 2019 Jan 10. doi: 10.1007/s11262-018-01629-9. [Epub ahead of print] Review.

Öhlund P, García-Arriaza J, Zusinaite E, Szurgot I, Männik A, Kraus A, Ustav M, Merits A, Esteban M, Liljeström P, Ljungberg K. DNA-launched RNA replicon vaccines induce potent anti-Ebolavirus immune responses that can be further improved by a recombinant MVA boost. Sci Rep. 2018 Aug 20;8(1):12459. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-31003-6.