About our research group/lab
Research
The HerpeslabNL aims to elucidate the virus and host factors involved in the immune control and pathogenesis of the human neurotropic herpes simplex viruses (HSV) and varicella zoster virus (VZV) in their natural host.
A hallmark of these herpesviruses is their ability to establish a lifelong latent infection after primary infection of neurons in sensory ganglia (HSV) or along the entire neuraxis (VZV). Reactivation of latent virus, which occasionally leads to recrudescent disease, is controlled by innate and adaptive immunity. Virus-specific immune responses are commonly beneficial (control of latent infection in sensory neurons), but can also cause detrimental disease affecting the eye (uveitis and keratitis) or the brain (encephalitis and potentially Alzheimer’s disease). The HerpeslabNL has developed a unique infrastructure to acquire human clinical specimens in combination with state-of-the-art methodologies to characterize the virus status (genome, proteome and transcriptome), the virus’ cell tropism, and the innate and adaptive cell types present at the site of infection including their antigen-specificity and effector functions. This enables the identification of the key host and virus factors that determine the clinical outcome of alpha-herpesvirus infections and disease.
The ultimate goal of our research is to develop novel intervention strategies aimed to prevent virus reactivation and herpesvirus-induced pathogenesis.
Team, alumni, and dissertations
Current team:
Georges M.G.M. Verjans Associate professor (PI) Email: g.verjans@erasmusmc.nl ORCID ID |
Werner J.D. Ouwendijk Assistant professor Email: w.ouwendijk@erasmusmc.nl ORCID ID Link to thesis W.J.D. Ouwendijk (2013) |
Michiel van Gent Assistant professor Email: m.vangent@erasmusmc.nl ORCID ID |
Maaike Moelker-Hang Project Manager - Grant Advisor Email: m.moelker@erasmusmc.nl |
José Afonso Guerra-Assunção Post-doc |
Fatiha Zaaraoui-Boutahar Technician Email: f.zaaraoui@erasmusmc.nl |
Tamana Khemai-Mehraba Technician Email: t.mehraban@erasmusmc.nl |
Sem M. van ‘t Geloof Technician Email: s.vantgeloof@erasmusmc.nl |
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Ahmad Seyar Rashidi Graduate student Email: a.rashidi@erasmusmc.nl |
Diana N. Tran Graduate student Email d.tran@erasmusmc.nl |
Mark Power Graduate student Email: m.power@erasmusmc.nl |
Lex Havelaar Graduate student Email: a.havelaar@erasmusmc.nl |
Anaïs M.T.Y. Wiech Graduate student Email: a.wiech@erasmusmc.nl |
Teun van der Klugt Graduate student Email: t.klugt@erasmusmc.nl |
Alumni
Post-doctoral fellows |
Current position | |
Gulce Sari | 2022-2023 | Post-doc at Dept Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Erasmus MC) |
Peter-Paul Unger |
2019 – 2021 |
Scientist at Thermo Fisher Scientific (Leiden, Netherlands) |
Eveline D. de Geus |
2014 – 2015 |
Post-doc at Hudson Institute of Medical Research (Melbourne, Australia) |
Graduate students | Current position | |
Shirley Braspenning | 2017 - 2020 |
Post-doc at NYU Langone Health (New York, USA) |
Gijs P. van Nierop |
2010 – 2018 |
Post-doc at Erasmus MC (Rotterdam, Netherlands) Link to thesis G.P. van Nierop (2018) |
Erik Schaftenaar |
2012 – 2016 |
Microbiologist at St. Antonius hospital (Utrecht, Netherlands) Link to thesis E. Schaftenaar (2016) |
Monique van Velzen |
2008 – 2013 |
Assistant professor at LUMC (Leiden, Netherlands) Link to thesis M. van Velzen (2013) |
Rui Duan |
2004 – 2009 |
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Jeroen Maertzdorf |
1998 – 2002 |
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (Berlin, Germany) Link to thesis J. Maertzdorf (2002) |
Lies Remeijer |
1997 – 2002 |
Chief ophthalmologist (Rotterdam, Netherlands) Link to thesis L. Remeijer (2002) |
Msc Students |
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Fulya Koc |
2023-2024 | LinkedIn Fulya Koc |
Mafalda Guerreiro Cabana |
2024 | LinkedIn MafaldaGuerreiro Cabana |
Amber Schotting |
2023-2024 | LinkedIn Amber Schotting |
Jochem Weekers |
2023-2024 | LinkedIn Jochem Weekers |
Projects
Ongoing projects & Completed projects |
Ongoing |
Virus-specific tissue-resident T cells in brain of Alzheimer’s disease patients |
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Large Scale T Cell Epitope Discovery: Local and Systemic T-cell Response to Herpes Simplex Virus Project Aims: To characterize the phenotype, functional characteristics and fine antigen specificity of virus-specific T-cells in HSV-1 infected human corneas and trigeminal ganglia. Team: Michiel van Gent & Georges M.G.M. Verjans International collaboration: David M. Koelle (University of Washington, Seattle WA) Funding: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (75N93019C00063-0-9999-1) |
Role of VZV latency transcript (VLT) and ORF63 in latency and reactivation Project Aims: To determine the role of VLT and ORF63 in latency establishment/ maintenance/ reactivation in human neurons ex vivo, in situ and in vitro. Team: Lex Havelaar,Shirley E. Braspenning, Werner J.D. Ouwendijk & Georges M.G.M. Verjans International collaboration: Paul (Kip) R. Kinchington (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA) Funding: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R01-AI151290-01A1) |
Cell death in the central nervous system: mechanisms and impact on disease pathogenesis. Project Aims: To identify the types of cell death that occur in diseases in the CNS, identify the molecular mechanisms involved, and decipher the impact on pathology. Team: Ahmad Seyar Rashidi & Georges M.G.M. Verjans International collaboration: Søren R. Paludan (Aarhus University Aarhus, Denmark) Funding: Lundbeckfonden (R276-2018-192) |
Completed projects |
Cutaneous Pathogen-Specific Tissue Resident Memory T Cells in Human Aging Project Aims: To determine the role of HSV-1 reactive T-cells in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease. Team: Michiel van Gent, Peter-Paul Unger & Georges M.G.M. Verjans International collaboration: David M. Koelle (University of Washington, Seattle WA) Funding: National Institute of Aging (R01-AG064800-02S1) |
Human organotypic brain slice model: a novel platform to study virus-induced neuropathology Project Aims: To determine the virus tropism and pathogenesis of neurotropic viruses using the human ex-vivo brain slice culture platform to be developed. Team: Diana N. Tran & Georges M.G.M. Verjans International collaboration: not applicable Funding: Erasmus MC: Human Disease Model Award |
Single cell analysis of T-cell receptors and transcriptome in tissue of multiple sclerosis patients Project Aims: To determine the fine antigen specificity, function and spatial orientation of dominant CD8 T-cells in brain lesions of multiple sclerosis patients. Team: Peter-Paul Unger & Georges M.G.M. Verjans International collaboration:Stephen J. Elledge (Harvard Medical School, Boston MA) & Roland Martin (University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland) Funding: Dutch MS Research Foundation (17-995 MS) |
Publications
2024
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Marshall EM*, Rashidi AS*, van Gent M, Rockx B, Verjans GM. Neurovirulence of Usutu virus in human fetal organotypic brain slice cultures partially resembles Zika and West Nile virus. Sci Rep. 2024;14:20095. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-71050-w.
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Zheng S, Verjans GM, Evers A, van den Wittenboer E, Tjhie JH, Snoeck R, Wiertz EJ, Andrei G, van Kampen JJ, Lebbink RJ. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing of the thymidine kinase gene in a clinical HSV-1 isolate identifies F289S as novel acyclovir-resistant mutation. Antiviral Res. 2024;228:105950. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2024.105950.
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Heinz JL, Hinke DM, Maimaitili M, Wang J, Sabli IKD, Thomsen M, Farahani E, Ren F, Hu L, Zillinger T, Grahn A, von Hofsten J, Verjans GM, Paludan SR, Viejo-Borbolla A, Sancho-Shimizu V, Mogensen TH. Varicella zoster virus-induced autophagy in human neuronal and hematopoietic cells exerts antiviral activity. J Med Virol. 2024;96:e29690. doi: 10.1002/jmv.29690.
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Ouwendijk WJ, Roychoudhury P, Cunningham AL, Jerome KR, Koelle DM, Kinchington PR, Mohr I, Wilson AC, Verjans GM*, Depledge DP*. Reply to Wang et al., "Ample evidence for the presence of HSV-1 LAT in non-neuronal ganglionic cells of mice and humans". J Virol. 2024;98:e0052024. doi: 10.1128/jvi.00520-24.
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Rashidi AS*, Tran DN*, Peelen CR, van Gent M, Ouwendijk WJ, Verjans GM. Herpes simplex virus infection induces necroptosis of neurons and astrocytes in human fetal organotypic brain slice cultures. J Neuroinflammation. 2024;21:38. doi: 10.1186/s12974-024-03027-5.
2023
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Heinz JL, Swagemakers SM, von Hofsten J, Helleberg M, Thomsen MM, De Keukeleere K, de Boer JH, Ilginis T, Verjans GM, van Hagen PM, van der Spek PJ, Mogensen TH. Whole exome sequencing of patients with varicella-zoster virus and herpes simplex virus induced acute retinal necrosis reveals rare disease- associated genetic variants. Front Mol Neurosci. 2023;16:1253040. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2023.1253040.
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Hullegie-Peelen DM, Tejeda Mora H, Hesselink DA, Bindels EM, van den Bosch TP, Clahsen-van Groningen MC, Dieterich M, Heidt S, Minnee RC, Verjans GM, Hoogduijn MJ, Baan CC. Virus-specific TRM cells of both donor and recipient origin reside in human kidney transplants. JCI Insight. 2023;8:e172681. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.172681.
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Ren F, Narita R, Rashidi AS, Fruhwürth S, Gao Z, Bak RO, Thomsen MK, Verjans GM, Reinert LS*, Paludan SR*. ER stress induces caspase-2-tBID-GSDME-dependent cell death in neurons lytically infected with herpes simplex virus type 2. EMBO J. 2023;42:e113118. doi: 10.15252/embj.2022113118.
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Malahe SR*, van Kampen JJ*, Manintveld OC, Hoek RA, den Hoed CM, Baan CC, Kho MM, Verjans GM. Current Perspectives on the Management of Herpesvirus Infections in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients. Viruses. 2023;15:1595. doi: 10.3390/v15071595.
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Ouwendijk WJ, Roychoudhury P, Cunningham AL, Jerome KR, Koelle DM, Kinchington PR, Mohr I, Wilson AC, Verjans GM*, Depledge DP*. Reanalysis of single-cell RNA sequencing data does not support herpes simplex virus 1 latency in non-neuronal ganglionic cells in mice. J Virol. 2024;98:e0185823. doi: 10.1128/jvi.01858-23.
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·van Gent M, Ouwendijk WJ, Campbell VL, Laing KJ, Verjans GM*, Koelle DM*. Varicella-zoster virus proteome-wide T-cell screening demonstrates low prevalence of virus-specific CD8 T-cells in latently infected human trigeminal ganglia. J Neuroinflammation. 2023;20:141. doi: 10.1186/s12974-023-02820-y.
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Hoornweg TE, Godeke GJ, Hoogerwerf MN, van Kasteren PB, de Vries A, Sprong H, Verjans GM, van Riel D, Reimerink JH, Rockx B*, Reusken CB*. Rescue and in vitro characterization of a divergent TBEV-Eu strain from the Netherlands. Sci Rep. 2023;13:2872. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-29075-0.
2022
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Laing KJ, Ouwendijk WJ, Campbell VL, McClurkan CL, Mortazavi S, Elder Waters M, Krist MP, Tu R, Nguyen N, Basu K, Miao C, Schmid DS, Johnston C, Verjans GM, Koelle DM. Selective retention of virus-specific tissue-resident T cells in healed skin after recovery from herpes zoster. Nat Commun. 2022;13:6957. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-34698-4.
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Unger PA, Oja AE, Khemai-Mehraban T, Ouwendijk WJ, Hombrink P, Verjans GM. T-cells in human trigeminal ganglia express canonical tissue-resident memory T-cell markers. J Neuroinflammation. 2022;19:249. doi: 10.1186/s12974-022-02611-x.
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Mulder EE, Damman J, Verver D, van der Veldt AA, Tas S, Khemai-Mehraban T, Heezen KC, Wouters RA, Verhoef C, Verjans GM, Langerak AW, Grünhagen DJ, Mooyaart AL. Histopathological and immunological spectrum in response evaluation of talimogene laherparepvec treatment and correlation with durable response in patients with cutaneous melanoma. Melanoma Res. 2022;32:249-259. doi: 10.1097/CMR.0000000000000824.
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Katzilieris-Petras G, Lai X, Rashidi AS, Verjans GM, Reinert LS*, Paludan SR*. Microglia Activate Early Antiviral Responses upon Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Entry into the Brain to Counteract Development of Encephalitis-Like Disease in Mice. J Virol. 2022;96:e0131121. doi: 10.1128/JVI.01311-21.
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Tran DN, Bakx AT, van Dis V, Aronica E, Verdijk RM, Ouwendijk WJ. No evidence of aberrant amyloid β and phosphorylated tau expression in herpes simplex virus-infected neurons of the trigeminal ganglia and brain. Brain Pathol. 2022;32:e13044. doi: 10.1111/bpa.13044.
2021
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Braspenning SE, Lebbink RJ, Depledge DP, Schapendonk CM, Anderson LA, Verjans GM, Sadaoka T*, Ouwendijk WJ*. Mutagenesis of the Varicella-Zoster Virus Genome Demonstrates That VLT and VLT-ORF63 Proteins Are Dispensable for Lytic Infection. Viruses. 2021;13:2289. doi: 10.3390/v13112289.
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Braspenning SE, Verjans GM, Mehraban T, Messaoudi I, Depledge DP*, Ouwendijk WJ*. The architecture of the simian varicella virus transcriptome. PLoS Pathog. 2021;17:e1010084. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010084.
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Zhu S, Stanslowsky N, Fernández-Trillo J, Mamo TM, Yu P, Kalmbach N, Ritter B, Eggenschwiler R, Ouwendijk WJ, Mzinza D, Tan L, Leffler A, Spohn M, Brown RJ, Kropp KA, Kaever V, Ha TC, Narayanan P, Grundhoff A, Förster R, Schambach A, Verjans GM, Schmidt M, Kispert A, Cantz T, Gomis A, Wegner F, Viejo-Borbolla A. Generation of hiPSC-derived low threshold mechanoreceptors containing axonal termini resembling bulbous sensory nerve endings and expressing Piezo1 and Piezo2. Stem Cell Res. 2021;56:102535. doi: 10.1016/j.scr.2021.102535.
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St Leger AJ, Koelle DM, Kinchington PR, Verjans GM. Local Immune Control of Latent Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 in Ganglia of Mice and Man. Front Immunol. 2021;12:723809. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.723809.
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Laksono BM*, Tran DN*, Kondova I, van Engelen HGH, Michels S, Nambulli S, de Vries RD, Duprex WP, Verjans GM, de Swart RL. Comparable Infection Level and Tropism of Measles Virus and Canine Distemper Virus in Organotypic Brain Slice Cultures Obtained from Natural Host Species. Viruses. 2021;13:1582. doi: 10.3390/v13081582.
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Guerra-Assunção JA*, van Kampen JJ*, Roy S, Remeijer L, Breuer J, Verjans GM. Cluster of Symptomatic Graft-to-Host Transmission of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 in an Endothelial Keratoplasty Setting. Ophthalmol Sci. 2021;1:100051. doi: 10.1016/j.xops.2021.100051.
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Petry M, Palus M, Leitzen E, Mitterreiter JG, Huang B, Kröger A, Verjans GM, Baumgärtner W, Rimmelzwaan GF, Růžek D, Osterhaus AD, Prajeeth CK. Immunity to TBEV Related Flaviviruses with Reduced Pathogenicity Protects Mice from Disease but Not from TBEV Entry into the CNS. Vaccines (Basel). 2021;9:196. doi: 10.3390/vaccines9030196.
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Ouwendijk WJ, Raadsen MP, van Kampen JJ, Verdijk RM, von der Thusen JH, Guo L, Hoek RA, van den Akker JP, Endeman H, Langerak T, Molenkamp R, Gommers D, Koopmans MP, van Gorp EC, Verjans GM, Haagmans BL. High Levels of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps Persist in the Lower Respiratory Tract of Critically Ill Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019. J Infect Dis. 2021;223:1512-1521. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiab050.
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Lamers MM*, van der Vaart J*, Knoops K, Riesebosch S, Breugem TI, Mykytyn AZ, Beumer J, Schipper D, Bezstarosti K, Koopman CD, Groen N, Ravelli RBG, Duimel HQ, Demmers JAA, Verjans GM, Koopmans MP, Muraro MJ, Peters PJ, Clevers H**, Haagmans BL**. An organoid-derived bronchioalveolar model for SARS-CoV-2 infection of human alveolar type II-like cells. EMBO J. 2021;40:e105912. doi: 10.15252/embj.2020105912.
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Reinert LS, Rashidi AS*, Tran DN*, Katzilieris-Petras G, Hvidt AK, Gohr M, Fruhwürth S, Bodda C, Thomsen MK, Vendelbo MH, Khan AR, Hansen B, Bergström P, Agholme L, Mogensen TH, Christensen MH, Nyengaard JR, Sen GC, Zetterberg H, Verjans GM, Paludan SR. Brain immune cells undergo cGAS/STING-dependent apoptosis during herpes simplex virus type 1 infection to limit type I IFN production. J Clin Invest. 2021;131:e136824. doi: 10.1172/JCI136824.
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Verdijk RM, Ouwendijk WJ, Kuijpers RW, Verjans GM. No Evidence of Varicella-Zoster Virus Infection in Temporal Artery Biopsies of Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy Patients With and Without Giant Cell Arteritis. J Infect Dis. 2021;223:109-112. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa566.
2020
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Ouwendijk WJ*, Depledge DP*, Rajbhandari L, Lenac Rovis T, Jonjic S, Breuer J, Venkatesan A, Verjans GM, Sadaoka T. Varicella-zoster virus VLT-ORF63 fusion transcript induces broad viral gene expression during reactivation from neuronal latency. Nat Commun. 2020;11:6324. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-20031-4.
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Braspenning SE, Sadaoka T, Breuer J, Verjans GM, Ouwendijk WJ*, Depledge DP*. Decoding the Architecture of the Varicella-Zoster Virus Transcriptome. mBio. 2020;11:e01568-20. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01568-20.
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Ouwendijk WJ, van den Ham HJ, Delany MW, van Kampen JJ, van Nierop GP, Mehraban T, Zaaraoui-Boutahar F, van IJcken WF, van den Brand JM, de Vries RD, Andeweg AC, Verjans GM. Alveolar barrier disruption in varicella pneumonia is associated with neutrophil extracellular trap formation. JCI Insight. 2020;5:e138900. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.138900.
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Koetzier SC, van Langelaar J, Blok KM, van den Bosch TP, Wierenga-Wolf AF, Melief MJ, Pol K, Siepman TA, Verjans GM, Smolders J, Lubberts E, de Vries HE, van Luijn MM. Brain-homing CD4 T cells display glucocorticoid-resistant features in MS. Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm. 2020;7:e894. doi: 10.1212/NXI.0000000000000894.
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Ouwendijk WJ, Dekker LJ, van den Ham HJ, Lenac Rovis T, Haefner ES, Jonjic S, Haas J, Luider TM, Verjans GM. Analysis of Virus and Host Proteomes During Productive HSV-1 and VZV Infection in Human Epithelial Cells. Front Microbiol. 2020;11:1179. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01179.
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Windster JD, Ouwendijk WJ, Sloots CEJ, Verjans GM, Verdijk RM. Ileocolic Intussusception as the Presenting Symptom of Primary Enteric Varicella-Zoster Virus Infection in a 7-Month-Old Infant. J Infect Dis. 2020;222:305-308. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa148.
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Casto AM, Roychoudhury P, Xie H, Selke S, Perchetti GA, Wofford H, Huang ML, Verjans GM, Gottlieb GS, Wald A, Jerome KR, Koelle DM, Johnston C, Greninger AL. Large, Stable, Contemporary Interspecies Recombination Events in Circulating Human Herpes Simplex Viruses. J Infect Dis. 2020;221:1271-1279. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiz199.
Collaborations
Collaborations within Erasmus MC
Collaborations outside of Erasmus MC
- Rotterdam Eye Hospital (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
- Netherlands Brain Bank (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
- Stefanie Fruhwürth (University of Gothenburg, Sweden)
- David M. Koelle (University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA)
- Daniel P. Depledge (Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany)
- Tomohiko Sadaoka (Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan)
- Paul (Kip) R. Kinchington (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA)
- Søren R. Paludan (Aarhus University Aarhus, Denmark)
- Stephen J. Elledge (Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA)
News
2024 |
21-11-2024 Er is een vaccin tegen gordelroos, maar dat wordt niet vergoed.Magda (81) kreeg flinke klachten door gordelroos: ’Stekende brandende pijn die maar niet minder werd. Telegraaf, 21-11-2024, With contribution from George Verjans |
31-10-2024
Research Grant for Werner Ouwendijk within the Call Biomedical Research 2024 from Alzheimer Nederland
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. The cause remains unknown, but we are gradually gaining a better understanding of the disease’s progression and underlying processes. Notably, the immune system, which usually protects us from pathogens, becomes dysregulated and appears to worsen the disease. It is unclear why this occurs and which role the different immune cells play in this process. In this project, we will map the characteristics of T cells in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients and healthy individuals. |
21-10-2024 All you need to know about shingles. Scratching doesn’t helpShingles, also known as herpes zoster, is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus responsible for chickenpox. In industrialized countries, one in three people will experience shingles at some point, with outbreaks having significant impacts. The virus remains dormant in the body after a person has had chickenpox, typically during childhood. It can reactivate later in life, often due to a weakened immune system, stress, or aging, leading to shingles. Georges Verjans contributed to this article. |
14 August 2024 Guest Lecture 'Long read HiFi sequencing: the next revolution for rare (immune) disease research’ Prof. Alexander Hoischen Date: 14 August 2024
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14 April 2024, NRC A finger on the sore cold sore The cold sore virus is good at playing hide and seek. It has been clear for decades where this virus, herpes simplex (HSV), hides in the body, but how exactly this hiding works remains mysterious. When scientists in the United States reported last year, based on a new technique with large amounts of data, that the virus is hiding in more places than had been known all along, herpes researchers worldwide were immediately interested. |
1 March 2024 Tim and Anja had shingles: 'The pain was nauseating' “I have had a few ailments. But this was really miserable. I never want shingles again,” says Rotterdam resident Tim van der Meer (40). The disease left a deep impression on him. Shingles is common: one in three Dutch people will experience it at some point. When Tim continues to talk, it becomes clear why he never wants to experience the disease again. Even though it didn't even last a week for him. “I couldn't do anything anymore, it hurt so much. Don't lie down, don't sit down. Nothing." Tim couldn't lie down and therefore couldn't sleep. “I was awake for nights.” Anja van Loo (66) also lay awake a lot when she had shingles. “It hurts so much, it's terrible,” she says. “You just don't know how to lie.” Anja ended up suffering from it for a month. |
2023 |
December 2023
Guest Lecture 'Modeling Covid-19 immunity and therapy’ Prof. Joshua T. Schiffer, MD Date: 7 December 2023 |
November 2023 Guest Lecture 'Early host defense and immune responses to herpesvirus infections’ Date: 16 november 2023
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July 2023 Ius promovendi awarded to the HerpeslabNL PI: The Erasmus MC’s Doctorate Board has granted dr. G.M.G.M. Verjans the Ius promovendi. |
June 2023 Michiel van Gent receives prestigious personal grant (VIDI) from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) to study intrinsic immunity against viral infections of the human nervous system Seven scientists from Erasmus MC receive a grant from NWO for their research. This will enable the laureates to develop an innovative line of research over the next five years and to further expand their own research group. Six Vidis have been awarded and a subsidy through the Open Technology Programme. Michiel van Gent is one of them. |
May 2023 Werner Ouwendijk received an ENW-M grant from the Dutch NWO Domain Board Science to investigate how herpesviruses establish latency and how they can reactivate. Link Awakening a sleeping virus 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 awaken (reactivation) to cause recurrent disease. I will investigate how herpesviruses establish latency and how they can reactivate. Hereto, I will be using varicella-zoster virus (VZV), the cause of chickenpox and shingles, as a model. More insight into these poorly understood processes will be essential for the development of new therapies that prevent reactivation of VZV and possibly other herpesviruses. |
2022 |
November 2022 Werner Ouwendijk received an ENW XS grant to explore the link between virus infections and Alzheimer’s disease Link (In Dutch) Impact of virus infections on the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. W.J.D. (Werner) Ouwendijk (Erasmus medisch centrum) Infectious diseases increase the risk of getting Alzheimer's disease. How pathogens contribute to Alzheimer's is unclear. In this study, I will use a powerful and innovative technique to analyze the history of virus infections during the lifetime of an individual. By comparing Alzheimer's patients with non-demented controls, I can identify specific viruses or combinations of virus infections that are associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease. This knowledge encourages further research into how these viruses contribute to the disease and can prioritize the development of new antiviral therapies or vaccines. |
October 2022 On Tuesday October 25 2022 Shirley Braspenning successfully defended her PhD dissertation ‘Molecular Biology of Lytic and Latent Varicellovirus Infections’. Link to thesis.
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Juli 2022 Minisymposium "Herpesviruses: molecular interactions between virus and host" Date: 24 october 2022 Synopsis_Bibliography Speakers
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May 2022: |
March 2022: HerpesLab researcher Dr. Michiel van Gent is awarded a two-year Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (link). |
Join us
Interested in joining us?
GENERAL POSITIONS:
We are always seeking talented and passionate scientists to join our team, from students to postdocs to staff scientists. If you are interested in joining us, please send an email to HerpeslabNL@erasmusmc.nl and include your CV and contact information for 2-3 references.
PhD POSITIONS
None at the moment
STUDENT INTERNSHIPS:
- Evasion of T cell and NK cell immunity by varicella-zoster virus
(n=1 internship; already filled in until summer 2025) - Deciphering the role of herpes virus simplex reactive T‐cells in human corneas and sensory ganglia (n=1 internship; available September 2024)
- Intrinsic immune control of neurotropic virus infections
(n=2 internships; available September 2024) - Trans-axonal transport of varicella-zoster virus
(n=1 internship; already filled in until summer 2025) - Chromatin Control of Varicella-Zoster Virus Latency and Reactivation
(n=1 internship; already filled in until summer 2025)