Discovery and development of novel host-directed therapeutic agents for emerging and re-emerging human enveloped pathogenic viruses. My laboratory has been leading national and international research programs on Host Directed Antivirals (HDAs) active against SARS-CoV-2 variants and future pandemic-causing viruses. Fundamentally, my research projects capitalize on the foundational platform technologies and discoveries pioneered by my team members to conduct advanced preclinical studies on novel broad-spectrum antiviral leads. We are now employing high-content screening and AI-based image analysis platforms to perform phenotypic and antiviral evaluation of our HDAs in 2D and 3D cell-based systems of infection using patient-derived primary cells and patient-derived organoids. The impact of our latest findings opens the door to developing novel broad-spectrum antivirals (https://news.ubc.ca/tag/dr-francois-jean/). The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries to endorse a new document signalling their commitment to pandemic preparedness. It has composed a list of nine viral pathogens of concern that could jumpstart the next global pandemic. We hope that the molecules that we discover and develop at UBC will be the first of their kind used against the priority viral pathogens on the WHO list.
Research Excellence and Training: My projects offer invaluable training and employment opportunities for the next generation of molecular/cellular virologists in antiviral drug discovery research. I have been strongly committed to providing support, mentorship, and professional development opportunities to my trainees and junior colleagues alike in antiviral drug discovery. My trainees and I hold 25 collective invention disclosures and patents at UBC on broad-spectrum antivirals. I am the founder and former Scientific Director of the UBC Facility for Infectious Disease and Epidemic Research (FINDER) and currently the Lead for Pillar 10 (Antiviral Strategies & Antiviral Therapeutics) of Canada’s Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network (CoVaRR-Net).
We are grateful to the following organizations for funding our research:
Canadian Institutes of Health Research:
- https://webapps.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/decisions/p/project_details.html?applId=480228&lang=en
- https://webapps.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/decisions/p/project_details.html?applId=462582&lang=en&wbdisable=true
Genome BC:
Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network:
- https://covarrnet.ca/our-team/#pillar-10
- https://covarrnet.ca/pillar-10-antiviral-team-reflects-on-three-years-of-breakthrough-research/