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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

A major dataset of AI-predicted viral protein complex structures is released this week. Watch our page for upcoming posts exploring our contribution to this important collaborative effort!

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Using tissue from three breeds (Aberdeen Angus, Holstein Friesian, Limousin), we found all were susceptible to infection 🔬. They all had receptors for both avian and human influenza viruses in the same tissue - suggesting that the udder could be a place where flu viruses mix.

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

No animals were used in this study. We used real udder tissue explants (not cell lines), sourced from abattoirs from animals already processed for the food chain - a nice example of the "Three Rs" (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) in action: nc3rs.org.uk/3rs-public

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

To study these high-risk viruses safely, we built lab-safe viruses carrying just the H5N1 surface proteins using reverse genetics. There was no need to handle dangerous viruses to get relevant answers!

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

A joint effort by the @prmurcia.bsky.social and @socialinfluenza.bsky.social labs, the paper led by Rebecca Ross and @sarahkwalsh.bsky.social is published open access in the Journal of General Virology.

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

H5N1 has spread widely in US dairy herds, causing reduced milk yield, mastitis, and multiple human cases since its emergence. We asked whether cattle breeds farmed worldwide could also be susceptible.

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

🐄🦠 New paper from the @cvrinfo.bsky.social! H5N1 avian flu has unexpectedly jumped and established in US dairy cattle. Could it infect other cattle breeds too? 🧵

A photo of a black Aberdeen Angus Cow standing in a misty field.

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Applicants for the UK posts must satisfy MSCA mobility rules and cannot have lived or worked in the UK for more than 12 of the previous 36 months.

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

DC13: Create next-generation AI systems for respiratory disease surveillance using genomic, healthcare and clinical data. With three-month international secondment in Barcelona, Spain

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

DC12: Decode viral diversity in wastewater and test AI tools to identify emerging threats - with a four-month international secondment in Tampere, Finland, and a two-month secondment at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, in the UK

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Join one of Europe's leading virology centres, work with international collaborators, and help shape future infectious disease surveillance.

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Interested in using genomics, big data and AI to tackle future pandemic threats? The @cvrinfo.bsky.social is recruiting two PhD students through the DETECTIVE Doctoral Network 🦠🕵️‍♂️ shorturl.at/iLrfP

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CVR Bioinformatics @cvrbioinfo.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Congrats to @ulad-litvin.bsky.social on winning 2nd best talk at #Vibiom2026! @cvrinfo.bsky.social 🏅

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Great to see a strong CVR contingent at #Vibiom2026 with Hayley Stone and James Herzig from @vibelab.co.uk and Robert Strange, Joseph Hughes and Ulad Litvin from @cvrbioinfo.bsky.social giving talks across the meeting sessions and @davidlrobertson.bsky.social chairing the Phylogenomics session!

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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

🚨New paper!🚨 Our study showing that H5N1 influenza viruses can remain infectious in unpasteurised milk for, basically, as long as you are likely to encounter that milk has now been published: www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...

A drawing of a Fresian cow whose markings resemble influenza viruses (image: Ed Hutchinson, 2025)

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

🎙️ PODCAST | CVR Meets: Dr Ruth Harvey Listen to Bailey's discussion with Dr Ruth Harvey, Deputy Director of the Worldwide Influenza Centre at the Francis Crick Institute, which dives into the importance of global flu surveillance. 🎥 youtu.be/NoXnS__Tudo 🔈 open.spotify.com/episode/05ct...

youtu.be

Flu Never Stops Surprising Us | CVR Meets: Ruth Harvey

YouTube video by MRC - UofGlasgow Centre for Virus Research

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

People living with HIV have been disproportionately affected by Mpox. In 2025, CVR researchers uncovered the emergence of drug-resistant Mpox strains, highlighting growing challenge for global Mpox control and need for improved surveillance & alternate treatments. www.youtube.com/watch?v=54t8...

youtube.com

Mpox Treatment and Drug Resistance | Case Study | Chris Davis & Antonia Ho

YouTube video by MRC - UofGlasgow Centre for Virus Research

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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

🚨New pre-print!🚨 Because influenza virions are highly variable in form no single method can show their molecular architecture in detail. Here, we integrate multiple structural and compositional approaches to identify new features of these beautiful virus particles www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

An illustration of an apical region of an animal cell in cross section, shown crowded with individual molecules. The plasma membrane is densely occupied by influenza virus glycoproteins, and from the surface bud influenza virions with different morphologies (L-R): spherical, bacilliform, filamentous with a genome, filamentous and empty, filamentous with a helical inner layer, and filamentous with a cofilactin cytoskeleton.

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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

🚨New pre-print!🚨 Using a panel of different H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b viruses and human seasonal influenza, and mammary explants from common beef and dairy cattle breeds, we add to the growing data showing that H5N1 spillovers into cattle should be seen as an ongoing risk www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

A panel of immunohistochemistry images showing infection of a panel of IAV viruses (as 6:2 reassortants on a PR8 backbone) in epithelia from the teat and gland cisterns of Aberdeen Angus, Limousin and Holstein Friesian cattle

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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

🚨New pre-print!🚨 Influenza viruses need proteases to become infectious. Here, we identify the proteases needed for influenza D virus entry, and show that proteases in the human airway are more than capable of activating this non-human virus www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

A woodcut of a highland cow peering through a square frame (image credit Ed Hutchinson)

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Emma will work to strengthen local research capacity in order to improve the detection of emerging viral infections in Uganda, a country which frequently faces outbreaks of life-threatening viral diseases such as Ebola and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever.

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

📢 NEW | NIHR announces Global Health Research Professors Professor Emma Thomson has been recognised by the NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) for her world-changing work delivering impact on some of the most pressing global health challenges. www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/...

gla.ac.uk

NIHR announces Global Health Research Professors

Two University of Glasgow Professors, including CVR Director Prof Emma Thomson, are among the latest cohort of Global Health Research Professors announced by the National Institute for Health and Care...

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

📢 TONIGHT | Prof Antonia Ho will present her Fleming Prize Lecture 'Unravelling Respiratory Viral Infections: from Bedside to Bench and Back' at 18:15 this evening. Don't miss it if you're attending Microbiology Society's #Microbio26! microbiologysociety.org/event/annual...

microbiologysociety.org

Annual Conference 2026

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CVR Bioinformatics @cvrbioinfo.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

📣 We’re still accepting applications for our Introduction to Viral #Bioinformatics course in Glasgow this June! ⏳ Apply by April 30 📅 🔗 tinyurl.com/yc8285zd @cvrinfo.bsky.social @uofgsii.bsky.social @uofgmvls.bsky.social @woahglobal.bsky.social

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

🦠 NEW | Fully funded PhDs in #virology We are excited to offer three fantastic opportunities to do joint PhDs between @cvrinfo.bsky.social and @pirbrightinst.bsky.social. Funded for UK home students. Deadline for applications: Fri 8 May 26 Links and details below ⬇️

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Heather Ferguson @drheatherferg.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

This finding challenges previous assumption that conditions in Scotland are 'too cold' for transmission, and emphasises importance of rolling out #mosquito vector-borne disease surveillance across the whole UK. #climatechange @sbohvm.gla.ac.uk @uofgnews.bsky.social @cvrinfo.bsky.social

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

🌊 How do viruses circulate in marine mammals? New research from @matt-arnold-bio.bsky.social & colleagues explores viral communities across 15 species in Scotland, identifying 120+ viruses. Younger animals carry more, and sharing between species is common. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Drivers of Viral Diversity and Sharing in Marine Mammals

Knowledge of viral infection in marine mammals, a group severely threatened by human activity, is largely limited to the pathology and epidemiology of few endemic viruses. The recent emergence in mar...

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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Are you excited by virology? Would you like to do a PhD? Three fantastic opportunities are available to do joint PhDs between @cvrinfo.bsky.social and @pirbrightinst.bsky.social Details in the thread below - please share! Deadline 8th May 2026, fully funded for UK Home students (1/4)

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

They discuss leading Long COVID theories, including persistent virus, autoimmunity, & dormant virus reactivation, and what these could mean for future treatments. Prof Iwasaki also shares insights on rapidly pivoting research during COVID-19 and the importance of clinical trials in finding answers.

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

🎙️ PODCAST | CVR Meets: Professor Akiko Iwasaki In this ep of Research Goes Viral, Bailey & Charlotte speak with Prof Akiko Iwasaki, 2025 Sir Michael Stoker Award winner, about Long COVID and how the pandemic transformed research overnight. 🎥 youtu.be/Iqbhq6dLLJs 🔈 open.spotify.com/episode/3spW...

youtu.be

Long COVID, pandemic pivots and Glasgow adventures | CVR Meets: Akiko Iwasaki

YouTube video by MRC - UofGlasgow Centre for Virus Research

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Mosquito Scotland Project @mosquitoscotland.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Great 1st day at the @ukvbd.bsky.social conferenced in Liverpool, with several #MosquitoScotland team members presenting findings from their work @sbohvm.gla.ac.uk @cvrinfo.bsky.social @meshachlee.bsky.social Georgia Kirby Ryan Carmichael Lucy Devlin Aidan Desjardins Dom Brass Ross Cuthbert

Photo of 3 PhD students standing beside a poster about the project on assessing "Mosquito-borne disease risk to Northern Ireland under environmental change" , led by Ross Cuthbert at Queen's University Belfast, in whose team they are working. Left to right Lucy Devlin, Ryan Carmichael and Aidan Desjardins

Photo of PhD student Meshach Lee standing beside his poster "Assessing mosquito-borne disease risk across an urban-rural gradient in Scotland"

Picture of screen in lecture hall displaying the title slide of a presentation delivered by Dr Dom Brass, UKCEH. The slide has the title "Forecasting the risk of WNV in Europe now and in the future"

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

🐓 The first European case of H9N2 Avian Flu has recently been reported in Italy. Prof Ed Hutchinson (@socialinfluenza.bsky.social) has written an informative article explaining what this development means and whether it’s something we should be concerned about. theconversation.com/first-europe...

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Listen to Kieran's recent presentation at the AVE Virology Interest Group "Characterizing novel viral proteins using protein language models (PLMs)": youtu.be/phrIC-J5Je0?...

youtu.be

"Characterizing novel viral proteins using protein language models (PLMs)" -Kieran Lamb

YouTube video by Variant Effects

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Protein Language Models (PLMs) could transform outbreak response New research from @kieranlamb.bsky.social & colleagues show that PLMs can identify mutation hotspots and key features of viral proteins - even from a single sequence. www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/...

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Our cells defend our bodies from the early stages of viral infection by synthesising a ‘web’ to trap viral genomes. @eilidhrivers.bsky.social & Daniel Squair (MRC PPU) identified ZNFX1, a protein that is synthesised when a cell is alerted to the presence of a virus. www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/...

gla.ac.uk

Scientists discover the Spiderman of our cells, which traps viral genomes in its web

In the same way Spiderman shoots his web to ensnarl his enemies, scientists have discovered a way in which our cells defend our bodies from the early stages of viral infection by synthesising a sticky...

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Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · 23/03/2026

Only two weeks are left for registering for Annual Conference 2026 in Belfast. Register now to secure your spot: microb.io/AC26Register #Microbio26

Night view of Belfast City Hall illuminated with colourful lights, promoting registration for Annual Conference 2026 at ICC Belfast from April 13-16.

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

📢 Fellowship Sponsorship at the CVR 📆 Deadline: Tues 21 April 26 We have an open sponsorship process and are committed to supporting a diverse, inclusive & well-supported community. Full support with application writing, organising peer reviews and interview prep. gla.ac.uk/research/az/...

A promotional graphic for fellowship sponsorship at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR). The background features two researchers in white lab coats and face masks working in a laboratory. Bold yellow text reads "Fellowship Sponsorship at the CVR." Below, a blue banner contains white text outlining the CVR’s commitment to supporting a diverse and inclusive research community, ending with "Get in touch!" in yellow. Logos for UKRI, the Medical Research Council, the University of Glasgow, and CVR are displayed at the bottom.

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Not all bat viruses spread the same way 🦇 A new study from @averyholmes.bsky.social & colleagues looked at six viruses in vampire bats in Peru & found contrasting patterns of circulation. Some reflect bat movement, others were influenced by human activity. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

gla.ac.uk

New study reveals contrasting spread of bat viruses in Peru

Researchers have uncovered clear differences in how viruses spread within the same wildlife host, challenging assumptions about how infection moves through animal populations.

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University of Glasgow @glasgow.ac.uk · 08/03/2026

Happy International Women’s Day! We are proud of the women of #TeamUofG, past and present. Here are just a few who have shaped our community over our 575-year history. Learn more: Gla.ac.uk/explore/575

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Antonia Ho @drtoniho.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

@cvrinfo.bsky.social Clinical Viral Epidemiology Group & Usher Institute PhD students, @hbsci.bsky.social & Milly Young presenting their work at #rti2026! 🫁🦠

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CVR Bioinformatics @cvrbioinfo.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

We’re hosting the @cvrinfo.bsky.social coffee morning 🍰🍩, celebrating the Lunar New Year 🧧🐎 #YearOfTheHorse

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Do you work in #GlobalHealth? The International Pandemic Sciences Conference 2026 wants to hear from you. 🗓️ 1–3 July 📍 Singapore & online 🗣️ Hosts: @PSIOxford and PREPARE 📚 Bursaries for LMIC delegates Submit your abstract and register: cvent.me/2mMBwn

cvent.me

International Pandemic Sciences Conference 2026.

The International Pandemic Sciences Conference 2026, convened by the Pandemic Sciences Institute and co-hosted by Singapore's PREPARE

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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

📢 EVENT | Coming to Singapore: #PandemicSciences2026 1–3 July @psioxford.bsky.social and PREPARE will host the International Pandemic Sciences Conference to explore how to build pandemic resilience. Bursaries for LMIC delegates. Register and submit an abstract ➡️ cvent.me/2mMBwn

cvent.me

International Pandemic Sciences Conference 2026.

The International Pandemic Sciences Conference 2026, convened by the Pandemic Sciences Institute and co-hosted by Singapore's PREPARE

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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Some Glasgowversaries today. Our omnicompetent lab manager Sarah Cole started working at what is now @cvrinfo.bsky.social 20 years ago, and our lab group started up almost exactly 10 years later. Huge thanks to Sarah - and to the CVR and everyone who makes it such a great place to study viruses 🦠🥳🦠

Sarah doesn't really like photographs, so here is a linocut of a golden cube of the main CVR building, labelled 'Sir Michael Stoker Building' (Image: Ed Hutchinson)

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