ITQB NOVA researchers join European project to advance antiviral strategies

Oeiras, 02 October 2024

ITQB NOVA researchers Cláudio M. Soares and Diana Lousa, from the Protein Modelling Laboratory, are partners of the research project SHIELD, which has been awarded a Horizon Europe grant by the European Commission.

This European consortium, including researchers from eight European countries and coordinated by the University of Heidelberg, in Germany, has received a total of 9 million euros to better understand viruses with high pandemic potential. The consortium will elucidate understudied mechanisms related to viral entry, such as glycosylation and virion dynamics as next generation antiviral targets, focusing on the Dengue, West Nile, Zika, Yellow Fever, Lassa, Hendra and Nipah viruses.

Within SHIELD, Cláudio M. Soares and Diana Lousa will coordinate a work package that uses advanced simulation and AI-based methods to unveil the molecular mechanisms of viral surface proteins and identify regions that can be targeted by antiviral strategies. They will also apply computational methods to discover new antiviral molecules, ranging from biopharmaceuticals to small molecules.