Holly Everest

DPhil Student - Interdisciplinary Bioscience DTP (iCASE)

Education

Current Research

Production and assessment of antiviral prophylactic properties of natural biomolecules against poultry viral diseases

This PhD project will evaluate the antiviral potential and molecular properties of naturally occurring biomolecules for use in a novel prophylactic treatment of farmed poultry against several poultry viral diseases. The antiviral activities of the identified biomolecules will be evaluated using virological approaches including the use of cell culture, embryonated hens’ eggs and in vivo chicken infection models. The follow-on studies will analyse molecular properties of these naturally derived molecules and exploit molecular biology, biotechnology technologies to produce more stable antiviral therapeutics in vitro in cell culture systems.

Supervisor: Prof. Munir Iqbal

Past Research

Avian Influenza H7N9 virus evolution: Defining the impact of internal genes on virus infection in avian and mammalian species
(May 2017 - September 2019)

Avian Influenza Research, Department of Virology , Animal and Plant Health Agency, DEFRA

Monitoring Avian influenza virus co-infection in chickens and identifying novel AIV reassortants, determining the independent gene origin and the ‘fittest’ reassortant viruses with the potential for autonomous replication.

Supervisor: Dr Joe James

An ELISA for distinguishment between Transmissable Gastroenteritis Virus and Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea Virus.
(April 2016 - May 2017)

Mammalian Virology Investigation Unit, Department of Virology , Animal and Plant Health Agency, DEFRA

The aim of the project was to design an ELISA to clearly identify the presence of PEDV in porcine species, where usually clinically indistinguishable. This is particulary important as PEDV is now a notifiable disease in the UK.

Supervisor: Prof. Falko Steinbach

Publications

  1. Hill, S., Hansen, R., Watson, S., Coward, V., Russell, C., Cooper, J., Essen, S., Everest, H., Parag, K., Fiddaman, S., Reid, S., Lewis, N., Brookes, S., Smith, A., Sheldon, B., Perrins, C., Brown, I. and Pybus, O. (2019). Comparative micro-epidemiology of pathogenic avian influenza virus outbreaks in a wild bird population. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 374(1775), p.20180259.

    [Link to Paper]

  2. Everest, H.; Hill, S.C.; Daines, R.; Sealy, J.E.; James, J.; Hansen, R.; Iqbal, M. (2020) The Evolution, Spread and Global Threat of H6Nx Avian Influenza Viruses . Viruses 12, 673.

    [Link to Paper]

  3. Joshua E. Sealy, Thomas P. Peacock, Jean-Remy Sadeyen, Pengxiang Chang, Holly J. Everest, Sushant Bhat & Munir Iqbal (2020) Adsorptive mutation and N-linked glycosylation modulate influenza virus antigenicity and fitness, Emerging Microbes & Infections, 9:1, 2622-2631, DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2020.1850180

    [Link to Paper]

†Joint authorship

Conferences

Upcoming

  • Microbiology Society Annual Conference
    Online
    26 - 30 April 2021

    • Past

  • Avian Influenza Update Meeting
    The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
    2nd December 2019
  • Avian Influenza Update Meeting
    The University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
    14th December 2020

    • Contacts

    Francesco Fiorentino