IN T E R V IE W S P O T L I G H T
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A N INTERVIEW WITH THE VI CE-PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH AT M CMASTER UNIVERSITY
DR. KAREN MOSSMAN VIRUSES AT PLAY MATTHEW LYNN1 & ROHAN AANANTH2
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Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours), Class of 2022, McMaster University Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours), Class of 2021, McMaster University
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Dr. Karen Mossman is a Professor in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, and a member of the McMaster Immunology Research Centre. She currently serves as the Vice-President of Research at McMaster University and previously served as the Chair of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences. Her research explores virus-host interactions with a particular focus on interferon responses, oncolytic viruses, and coronaviruses. Her lab was a part of the first effort to isolate the SARS-CoV-2 virus earlier this year. Photograph by Daily News; Communications & Public Affairs - McMaster University
HAVING STUDIED BOTH MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY THROUGHOUT YOUR ACADEMIC CAREER, WHEN DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN VIRUSES AND WHY? Growing up, I only had a Plan A and that was to be a vet. I only applied to one university and was fortunate enough to get [in] and volunteer [at] the [...] animal clinic. I hated it. Plan A was in jeopardy. [However], in [my] program I was able to do thesis projects for the last two years of my undergrad degree, [where] I was working with Dave Evans and [...] with viruses. I really loved it! THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS LED TO MANY DRASTIC CHANGES IN DAILY LIFE AROUND THE WORLD. WHAT DIFFERENTIATES IT FROM THE SARS EPIDEMIC OF 2003? When it first surfaced, we recognized what the virus was very quickly because we [had] gone through the original SARS in 2003. [SARS-CoV-2] can transmit really efficiently and we’re seeing it doesn’t cause the same disease as the original SARS. We see the mortality is much lower, but that also means there’s a lot of asymptomatic infections. A combination of asymptomatic infections,
