Professor Alain Kohl

Chair in Virology

I joined LSTM in 2023 from the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR), where I was Professor of Arbovirology and MRC Programme Leader. I have worked on arboviruses since my doctoral studies at the Institut Pasteur/University Paris 7 (Paris, France), with post-doctoral training at the Universities of Glasgow and St. Andrews before I started my independent research career at the University of Edinburgh with the support of a Wellcome Trust fellowship. I then joined the Roslin Institute as Career Track fellow, from where I moved to CVR.

Research

My research focuses on the replication of arboviruses and emerging viruses, their interactions with arthropod and vertebrate cells, as well as as host responses.

Awards

Chevalier de l’Ordre Grand-Ducal de la Couronne de Chêne (Knight of the Order of the Oak Crown) 2022, Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg.
Prix Lions 2020, Lions Club Luxembourg.

Membership:

American Society for Virology (2001- )
Microbiology Society (prev. Society for General Microbiology) (2002- )
American Society for Microbiology (2010- )
Arbovirology European Society (2022- )
Luxembourg Society for Microbiology (2023- )

Selected publications

  • Alexander A. J. T., M. Salvemini, V. B. Sreenu, J. Hughes, E. L. Telleria, M. Ratinier, F. Arnaud, P. Volf, B. Brennan, A. Kohl. Characterisation of the antiviral RNA interference response to Toscana virus in sand fly cells. PLOS Pathogens 19(3): e1011283. 2023.

    Gestuveo R. J., R. Parry, L. B. Dickson, S. Lequime, V. B. Sreenu, M. J. Arnold, A. A. Khromykh, E. Schnettler, L. Lambrechts, M. Varjak, A. Kohl. Mutational analysis of Aedes aegypti Dcr2 provides insights into the biogenesis of antiviral exogenous small interfering RNAs.
    PLOS Pathogens 18(1): e1010202. 2022.

    Gestuveo, R. J., J. Royle, C. L. Donald, D. J. Lamont, E. C. Hutchinson, A. Merits, A. Kohl*, M. Varjak*. Analysis of Zika virus capsid-Aedes aegypti mosquito interactome reveals pro-viral host factors critical for establishing infection. Nature Communications 12: 2766. 2021. *Co-corresponding authors

    Szemiel A. M., A. Merits, R. J. Orton, O. A. MacLean, R. M. Pinto, A. Wickenhagen, G. Lieber, M. L. Turnbull, S. Wang, W. Furnon, N. M. Suarez, D. Mair, A. Da Silva Filipe, B. J. Willett, S. J. Wilson, A. H. Patel, E. C. Thomson, M. Palmarini, A. Kohl, M. E. Stewart. In vitro selection of Remdesivir resistance suggests evolutionary predictability of SARS-CoV-2.  PLOS Pathogens 17(9): e1009929. 2021.

    Almire F., S. Terhzaz, S. Terry, M. McFarlane, R. J. Gestuveo, A. M. Szemiel, M. Varjak, A. McDonald, A. Kohl, E. Pondeville. Sugar feeding enhances gut immunity and protects against arboviral infection in the mosquito vector Aedes aegypti. PLOS Pathogens 17(9): e1009870. 2021.