• Question: Why did you want to be a virologist and work with viruses

    Asked by baker1 to Gioia on 14 Jun 2010 in Categories: . This question was also asked by scienceisababe.
    • Photo: Gioia Cherubini

      Gioia Cherubini answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Hi baker1,

      Initially I started research in the fascinating world of Gene Therapy, which one day will allow us to cure genetic dieseases (those diseases characterised by a defective gene), by injecting the good form of the gene. And guess what is the best way to deliver a gene in a cell? “Asking” a virus to carry it for you, because this is what the virus does at its best: transferring its genes into a cell. Viruses are really clever, they are very small and compact, and they can win over a big cell once they infect it (uhm…I’m very small as well, I wonder if this is why I like viruses so much!). However, thanks to the research, we are learning how to manipulate viruses so that they do what we want (deliver a gene into a cell), without arming us.

Comments