About our research group/lab
Our research
Our goal is to gain thorough knowledge of the pathogenesis, immune response, and epidemiology of viral diseases in people and animals, out of scientific curiosity but also to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment. As part of this we aim for transformative changes of society to reduce the drivers for emergence of viral diseases.
Comparative Pathology/Wildlife
The Wildlife group studies virus infections, especially those with emerging potential, in animals and humans, compares the pathology of animal and human diseases and use the knowledge to improve the quality of life for animals and humans.
Comparative Pathogenesis/RielScience
The RielScience group studies how respiratory virus infection causes systemic diseases. Although respiratory viruses cause in general mild respiratory diseases, it has been known for decades that these viral infections can also result in severe diseases outside the respiratory tract (extra-respiratory diseases), such as in the central nervous system. However, the mechanism of how these respiratory viruses cause extra-respiratory diseases (systemic pathogenesis) is poorly studied.
We currently study the systemic pathogenesis of influenza A viruses, enterovirus D68 and SARS-CoV-2. Our research questions include:
- How can the viruses spread and cause diseases in tissues outside the respiratory tract, such as in the central nervous system?
- How can these viruses trigger systemic inflammation?
Comparative immunology/RhabdoLab
The RhabdoLab group aims at understanding how, where, and when rabies virus suppresses the immune system of its host. Additionally, we investigate if different lyssaviruses use the same immunosuppressive mechanisms, and if the same type and level of immunosuppression is observed among different host species.
We use a broad variety of cellular and molecular tools to study the immune response against rabies virus and related viruses, from the level of the individual cell to whole organisms (e.g. in samples from naturally infected dogs or patient materials).
Our projects
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Comparative Pathology/Wildlife |
| Comparative Pathogenesis/RielScience Systemic pathogenesis of enterovirus D68 Neuropathogenesis of respiratory viruses |
| Comparative Immunology/RhabdoLab Towards reversing immune suppression in rabies virus infection RabiBoost: Restoring suppressed immune pathways as a novel post-exposure treatment for rabies virus (RABV). Investigating the immune response in dog-bite victims before and after rabies post-exposition prophylaxis Investigating the immune status and inter-host virus evolution during an outbreak of rabies in dogs in South-Africa |
Key Publications
| 2023 |
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Rabies virus uniquely reprograms the transcriptome of human monocyte-derived macrophages. Carmen W E Embregts, Annelieke S Wentzel, Alexander T den Dekker, Wilfred F J van IJcken, Ralph Stadhouders, Corine H GeurtsvanKessel. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2023 Jan 31;13:1013842. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1013842. PMID: 36798087 |
| 2022 |
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Rabies Virus Populations in Humans and Mice Show Minor Inter-Host Variability within Various Central Nervous System Regions and Peripheral Tissues. Carmen W E Embregts, Elmoubashar A B A, Devendra Bansal, Marjan Boter, Anne van der Linde, Vincent P Vaes, Ingeborg van Middelkoop-van den Berg, Jeroen IJpelaar, Hisham Ziglam, Peter V Coyle, Imad Ibrahim, Khaled A Mohran, Muneera Mohammed Saleh Alrajhi, Md Mazharul Islam, Randa Abdeen, Abdul Aziz Al-Zeyara, Nidal Mahmoud Younis, Hamad Eid Al-Romaihi, Mohammad Hamad J AlThani, Reina S Sikkema, Marion P G Koopmans, Bas B Oude Munnink, Corine H GeurtsvanKessel. Viruses. 2022 Nov 28;14(12):2661. doi: 10.3390/v14122661. PMID: 36560665 |
| 2021 |
| Street RABV Induces the Cholinergic Anti-inflammatory Pathway in Human Monocyte-Derived Macrophages by Binding to nAChr α7. Carmen W E Embregts, Lineke Begeman, Cees J Voesenek, Byron E E Martina, Marion P G Koopmans, Thijs Kuiken, Corine H GeurtsvanKessel. Front Immunol. 2021 Feb 19;12:622516. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.622516. PMID: 33679766 |
| 2020 |
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Dried blood spot cards: A reliable sampling method to detect human antibodies against rabies virus. Laura Doornekamp, Carmen W E Embregts, Georgina I Aron, Simone Goeijenbier, David A M C van de Vijver, Eric C M van Gorp, Corine H GeurtsvanKessel. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2020 Oct 13;14(10):e0008784. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008784. PMID: 33048925 First molecular analysis of rabies virus in Qatar and clinical cases imported into Qatar, a case report. Bas B Oude Munnink, Elmoubashar Abu Baker Abd Farag, Corine GeurtsvanKessel, Claudia Schapendonk, Anne van der Linden, Robert Kohl, Georgina Arron, Hisham Ziglam, Wael Goravey Mhjoop Goravey, Peter V Coyle, Imad Ibrahim, Khaled A Mohran, Muneera Mohammed Saleh Alrajhi, Md Mazharul Islam, Randa Abdeen, A Aziz Mahmoud A H Al-Zeyara, Nidal Mahmoud Younis, Hamad Eid Al-Romaihi, Mohammad Hamad J Al Thani, Richard Molenkamp, Reina S Sikkema, Marion Koopmans. Int J Infect Dis. 2020 Jul;96:323-326. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.04.070. PMID: 32376305 |
| 2018 |
| Comparative pathogenesis of rabies in bats and carnivores, and implications for spillover to humans. Lineke Begeman, Corine GeurtsvanKessel, Stefan Finke, Conrad M Freuling, Marion Koopmans, Thomas Müller, Tom J H Ruigrok, Thijs Kuiken. Lancet Infect Dis. 2018 Apr;18(4):e147-e159. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(17)30574-1. PMID: 29100899 |
Our teams
Principal Investigators
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Prof. dr. Thijs Kuiken Comparative Pathology/ Wildlife group ORCID |
Dr. Debby van Riel Comparative Pathogenesis/ RielScience group ORCID |
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Dr. Corine H. Geurts van Kessel |
Comparative Pathology/Wildlife
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Prof. dr. Thijs Kuiken Principal Investigator ORCID |
Lineke Begeman Postgraduate student ORCID |
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| Vera Mols PhD Student ORCID |
Peter van Run Research technician |
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| Marco van de Bildt Research technician |
Comparative Pathogenesis/RielScience
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Dr. Debby van Riel Principal Investigator ORCID |
Dr. Lisa Bauer Assistant professor ORCID |
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| Dr. Brigitta M. Laksono Postdoctoral researcher ORCID |
Dr. Edwin Veldhuis Kroeze Postdoctoral researcher ORCID |
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| Feline Benavides Postgraduate student ORCID |
Syriam Sooksawasdi Na Ayudhya Postgraduate student ORCID |
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| Lonneke Leijten Research technician |
Comparative Immunology/RhabdoLab
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| Dr. Corine H. Geurts van Kessel Principal Investigator ORCID |
Dr. Carmen W. E. Embregts Assistant professor ORCID |
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| Keshia Kroh
Postgraduate student ORCID |
Lars W. van Greuningen Research technician ORCID |
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Debby van Eck-Schipper |
Redwan Rahmat |
In the media
| 25 March 2021 |
| Rabies virus immediately attacks the immune system |
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The rabies virus that causes rabies immediately after entering the body, immediately attacks the immune system. This is discovered by researchers of the Erasmus MC. Counteracting early can potentially prevent a fatal outcome. Read the whole article (in Dutch) |
