Dr Virginia-Maria Vlachava
Research Associate
- vlachavav@cardiff.ac.uk
- Henry Wellcome Building for Biomedical Research, University Hospital of Wales, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4XN
Overview
I am a Research Associate at the Viral Immunology group at Cardiff University. My expertise is in virus-host interactions. I hold a PhD in Virology and have extensive studies in Molecular Biology, Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine. My current research is focused on the modulation of the immune response by HCMV. During my PhD I worked on cellular signalling and on the epigenetic modifications of the cell during HSV-1 infection.
Biography
Education
- 2009-2015: PhD Molecular Virology, Medical School, University of Crete, Greece
- 2008-2010: MSc, Molecular Basis of Human Disease, University of Crete, Greece
- 2002-2008: BSc (Hons), Biology specialized on Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Biology Department,University of Crete, Greece
Honours and awards
- “Maria Michail Manassaki” award for excellence in graduate studies (2014 and 2009), Medical School, University of Crete.
- European Union funded, internationally peer reviewed fellowship, "Heraclitus II - University of Crete", European Social Fund for the PhD thesis: “Study of the cellular signaling pathways during latent infection and reactivation by HSV-1 (Herpes Simplex Virus type I)” 09/2010-8/2013.
- Conference 3rd place award for the paper “Detection of herpes simplex virus type-1 in patients with fibrotic lung diseases.”, 20th Hellenic Congress of Thoracic Diseases, Athens, 2011
- Top 3 nomination for the oral presentation “Study of apoptosis and expression pattern of TNF receptor family members in human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells”,17th Congress of the Hellenic Society of Haematology, Athens, 2006
- Travel awards:
- European Society of Clinical Virology (ESCV) 2013
- UK Microbiology Society 2018, 2020
- International CMV conference 2019
- EMBO 2020
Professional memberships
- European Society for Clinical Virology
- Hellenic Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Microbiology Society, UK
Speaking engagements
- 5th UK CMV Conference, Glasgow, UK (2018)
- 21st European Society of Clinical Virology conference, Athens, Greece (2018)
- Microbiology Society Annual Conference, Birmingham, UK (2018)
- Cardiff University, Medical School, Institute of Infection & Immunity annual conference, UK (2018, 2020)
- Microbiology Society Annual Conference, Birmingham, UK (2021)
- Hellenic Society of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (HSBMB) (2021)
- 45th Annual International Herpesvirus Workshop (2021)
Publications
2023
- Vlachava, V. et al. 2023. HCMV-secreted glycoprotein gpUL4 inhibits TRAIL-mediated apoptosis and NK cell activation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120(49), article number: e2309077120. (10.1073/pnas.2309077120)
2021
- Vlachava, V. et al. 2021. Monoclonal antibodies targeting nonstructural viral antigens can activate ADCC against human cytomegalovirus. Journal of Clinical Investigation 131(4), article number: e139296. (10.1172/JCI139296)
2018
- Patel, M., Vlachava, V., Forbes, S. K., Fielding, C. A., Stanton, R. J. and Wang, E. 2018. HCMV-encoded NK modulators: Lessons from in vitro and in vivo genetic variation. Frontiers in Immunology 9, article number: 2214. (10.3389/fimmu.2018.02214)
- Wang, E. C. Y. et al. 2018. Suppression of costimulation by human cytomegalovirus promotes evasion of cellular immune defenses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115(19), pp. 4998-5003. (10.1073/pnas.1720950115)
2015
- Vlachava, V., Eliopoulos, A. G. and Sourvinos, G. 2015. CD40 ligand exhibits a direct antiviral effect on Herpes Simplex Virus type-1 infection via a PI3K-dependent, autophagy-independent mechanism. Cellular Signalling 27(6), pp. 1253-1263. (10.1016/j.cellsig.2015.03.002)
2011
- Lin, B. et al. 2011. Detection of herpes simplex virus Type-1 in patients with fibrotic lung diseases. PLoS ONE 6(12), article number: e27800. (10.1371/journal.pone.0027800)
2008
- Kastrinaki, M. et al. 2008. Functional, molecular and proteomic characterisation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in rheumatoid arthritis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 67(6), pp. 741-749. (10.1136/ard.2007.076174)