A/Prof. Sylvie Alonso
Associate Professor
Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
Immunology programme, Life Sciences Institute
Tel: +65-6516-3541
Email: micas@nus.edu.sg

What are your present research interests?

My research interests involve exploring host-pathogen interactions and deciphering the role of bacterial/viral determinants and host factors in pathogenesis. We are also interested in studying and characterizing the host immune responses to infection. We currently focus our studies on the mechanisms involved in i) persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, ii) neurovirulence/neurotropism of Enterovirus 71, and iii) Dengue disease severity. To do so, we are employing both in vitro cell culture systems and relevant mouse models of infection.

Do you have a distinctive viewpoint to your research?

My approach to research is based on the premise that teamwork and collaboration are very often more productive and impactful than single-minded approaches.

What do you see as your future research directions?

The trajectory of my research is to translate our findings into novel treatment options. This can be achieved through close collaboration with bioengineers and clinicians.

Does your laboratory have a particularly strong research expertise?

Great efforts have been devoted to develop and establish mouse models of infection which have made our group visible on the international scientific arena. Furthermore, these models have attracted many collaborations and partnership with academic and private sectors both locally and internationally to test the in vivo efficacy of drug/vaccine candidates.

Recent Publications

1. Periasamy P, Hutchinson PE, Chen J, Bonne I, Shahul Hameed SS, Selvam P, Hey YY, Fink K, Irving AT, Dutertre C-A, Baker M, Crameri G, Wang L-F, Alonso S (2019) Studies on B cells in the fruit-eating black flying fox (Pteropus alecto). Frontiers in Immunology 10:489
2. Too IHK, Bonne I, Tan EL, Chu JHJ, Alonso S (2018) Prohibitin plays a critical role in Enterovirus 71 neuropathogenesis. PLOSpathogens 14(1):e1006778.
3. Lam JH, Chua YL, Lee PX, Martínez Gómez J, Ooi EE, Alonso S (2017) Dengue vaccine-induced CD8+ T cell immunity confers protection in the context of enhancing, interfering maternal antibodies. Journal of Clinical Investigation Insights 2(24). pii:94500.
4. Ang MLT, Zainul Rahim SZ, de Sessions PF, Lin W, Koh V, Pethe K, Hibberd ML, Alonso S (2017) EthA/R-independent killing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by ethionamide. Frontiers in Microbiology 8:710.
5. Park HY, Tan PS, Kavishna R, Ker A, Lu J, Chan CEZ, Hanson BJ, MacAry PA, Caminschi I, Shortman K, Alonso S, Lahoud M (2017) Enhancing vaccine antibody responses by targeting Clec9A on dendritic cells. npg Vaccines 2:31.