Seed Meeting: The Neutralization of the Influenza Virus

The goal of the meeting organised at the French Embassy was to discuss the possible submission of an H2020 project. The original topic was the neutralisation of the influenza virus.

A consortium of five groups from the UK, France and Germany was arranged, involving scientists covering all relevant topics, namely computer science, physical chemistry, structural biology, virology, immunology, and population genetics.

The first session (Tuesday afternoon) was dedicated to presentations from the five groups. From the follow-up discussions, it appeared that the original topic was too specific, with well established consortia already targeting anti-flu therapeutics.

During the second session (Wednesday morning), a bottom-up approach was followed, with each partner stressing the contributions they could make. It was then clear that a broader project would be more appropriate, related to viral infection. The long term vision is to develop novel insights into virus/host adaptation, thanks to a unique combination of modelling and experiments.

The next step will consist of writing a detailed proposal. Overall, the brainstorming session was a real success, as a face-to-face meeting was essential to determine appropriate objectives.

We sincerely thank Claire Mouchot and Cyrille van Effenterre for making this meeting possible.