Recently Werner Ouwendijk received two NWO grants.
6 March 2026:
Dr. W.J.D. Ouwendijk (Erasmus MC), in collaboration with Prof. DP Depledge (Hannover Medical School), received an ENW-M-WEAVE grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) to investigate how herpesviruses establish latency and can reactivate.
Comparative multi-omics of alphaherpesvirus latency transcripts
Herpesviruses are an important cause of severe diseases in humans and animals. Following infection, herpesviruses persist in the host as latent virus (i.e., the virus enters a sleep mode). Later in life, the virus can wake up and cause recurrent disease. In this project, we will investigate the similarities between latency genes (lullabies) of different herpesviruses. This will be used to investigate whether these viruses are using the same strategies to establish latency. More insight into this process will provide valuable leads for the development of new therapies that prevent waking up of herpesviruses.
15 December 2025:
ENW-XS grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) to develop new system for targeted protein degradation based on viral immune evasion proteins.
Repurposing viral immune evasins to treat protein aggregation disorders
This project aims to develop a new system for targeted protein degradation by repurposing two proteins from a common neurotropic virus, varicella-zoster virus (VZV). These viral proteins naturally work together to selectively degrade host proteins. By modifying one of them and attaching it to nanobodies that recognize disease-related proteins, we aim to redirect this system to break down harmful proteins like amyloid β, which is involved in Alzheimer’s disease. This virus-based approach could pave the way for development of novel therapies for neurodegenerative disorders and other protein aggregation disorders.
