Event

The Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) hosts its Seminar Series with guest speaker, Dr. Mohammad Khalid Parvez, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.

He will present on the topic, Biology of SARS-CoV-2: Insights into High Transmissibility and Disease Severity.

Watch the seminar happening Thursday June 25, 2020 at 12:00pm (noon) online via Blackboard Collaborate.

To join the talk, please visit the link: https://ca.bbcollab.com/guest/7c7396e8639a401caee884566890edc7.

Please note: You can log in 15 minutes before the start of the seminar. No prior registration is required.

For additional queries, please email Milena.Mechkarska@sta.uwi.edu.

Abstract

In the present globalised world, outbreaks of emerging or re-emerging novel viruses have exerted the greatest toll on human health. The ongoing health crisis due to the novel SARS-CoV-2 disease (COVID-19) has brought the world to a standstill. Its actual source of origin and mechanism of high transmission and aggressive pathogenesis still remain poorly understood. SARS-CoV not only causes severe respiratory disease but also manifests in other vital organs, notably the digestive tract and liver. Nonetheless, previous experiences with the 2002-3 SARS-CoV and 2012-13 MERS-CoV outbreaks have helped understanding the virus pathobiology to some extent.

A comparative sequence analysis of SARS-CoV-2 with human CoV (SARS-/MERS-CoV) and mammalian SARS-like CoV (bat-/civet-/pangolin-SL-CoV) has revealed its very close similarity (~96%) with bat-SL-CoV. Because the virus has zoonotic origin and is newly introduced, humans lack natural immunity against it. Of the novel and unique mutations observed in SARS-CoV-2, the most important ones have been found in the cellular ACE2 receptor binding-motif as well as generation of a furin-like cleavage site in its ‘Spike’ protein. These genetic features strongly suggest the adaptive evolution, enhanced infectivity and disease severity of COVID-19 in humans.

While hundreds of treatment and intervention candidates are undergoing clinical trials, the anti-Ebola drug remdesivir has been recently approved as ‘emergency drug’ and the mRNA vaccine is ready to enter phase-2 trial.

About Dr. Mohammad Khalid Parvez

He is an Associate Professor at King Saud University College of Pharmacy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He obtained his PhD (Virology) from International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi, India. He has worked as Welcome-Trust postdoctoral fellow at ICGEB, India, Fogarty Visiting Scientist at National Institutes of Health, Maryland, USA and Research Associate at Institute of Human Virology, Baltimore, USA. He  has been involved in hepatitis virology (HBV and HEV) and liver disease research for over 20 years. His current research involves HEV virology as well as antiviral, antimicrobial and anticancer natural products. He has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles in internationally reputed journals. Dr. Parvez is a member of many international scientific organizations, and serving on editorial/reviewers board of several peer-reviewed journals.

For more information about Dr Parvez, please see the websites below:

• http://fac.ksu.edu.sa/mohkhalid/home
• https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Khalid_Parvez3
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Parvez+MK)