Ana M. Lopes

I completed my PhD in 2016, subordinated to the theme "Insights into the host-pathogen interactions: Lagovirus in leporids”. Over the last years, I worked towards the understanding of the co-evolutionary mechanisms that drive host-pathogen interactions using mainly leporids and lagoviruses as a model. I had particular interest in rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), a calicivirus that causes a highly fatal hepatitis in the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and, at a lesser extent, in other leporid species. My research has been focused on the understanding of viral evolution and mechanisms of interaction with the host and thus addresses multiple aspects of virology, epidemiology and evolutionary biology. Ultimately, it aims to mitigate viral negative effects in wild populations.