The ‘G2P-UK’ National Virology Consortium* will study how mutations in the virus affect key outcomes such as:
- how transmissible it is
- the severity of COVID-19 it causes
- the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments.
The Fodor Lab (Sir William Dunn School of Pathology) and the Grimes Lab (Nuffield Department of Medicine) are pleased to be part of this project through their collaboration on the SARS-CoV-2 RNA polymerase. Specifically, they will be addressing how emerging mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 replicase genes affect the ability of the virus to replicate its RNA genome and, in collaboration with the other partners in the consortium, how these changes impact the properties of the virus, such as transmissibility, severity of the disease it causes and the immune responses it triggers.