Biomedical researcher: Viruses are not always bad
Showing enthusiasm for viruses in the middle of a corona pandemic takes some doing. But Associate Professor David Olagnier from Aarhus University is doing it anyway, not least because he utilises genetically modified viruses to fight cancer cells. Now, his research receives support from the Danish Cancer Society with a DKK 1.7 million grant from their Beat Cancer pool.
Chemotherapy or radiotherapy are frequent forms of treatment for cancer, but in some cases, the cancer cells become resistant to traditional treatment. David Olagnier from the Department of Biomedicine will therefore develop a new treatment method with genetically modified viruses, also called oncolytic viruses, which find and kill specific cancer cells without damaging the surrounding healthy tissue.
He conducts research into new viruses such as Dengue, Zika and SARS-Covid19, while also examining the correlation between metabolism and congenital antiviral responses in cancer and viral infections.
The goal is to ensure that more patients survive cancers which have poor prognoses because of multi-resistant cancer cells. In addition, David Olagnier hopes that his research can contribute to a more nuanced and positive perception of viruses.
David Olagnier’s research project begins in January 2021, and the Danish Cancer Society supports the project with DKK 1,725,000 from this year’s Beat Cancer pool under the category ”Talented young cancer researchers”.
Contact
Associate Professor & PhD David Olagnier
Aarhus University, Department of Biomedicine
Email: olagnier@biomed.au.dk