isirv Antiviral Group
Sylvie van der Werf, Institut Pasteur, France
Pr. van der Werf completed the following education: Agrégation (National Teaching Degree) in Physiology and Biochemistry, Doctorate in Microbiology with an option in Virology at the University of Paris in 1979, and a Doctorate in Natural Sciences specializing in Virology, also at the University of Paris in 1984.
Professionally Pr. van der Werf held several teaching and research positions. Currently she is a Professor at the University Paris Diderot and Head of the Molecular Genetics of RNA Viruses Unit at the Institut Pasteur. She is also Director of the National Influenza Centre (Northern France). At the University Paris Diderot she is responsible for a master program in Immunology, microbiology, virology and infectious diseases and co-director of a PhD program.
Pr. van der Werf is a member of the following professional bodies and societies: American Society of Microbiology, Société Française de Microbiologie, Society for General Microbiology, European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, International Society for Influenza and other Respiratory Viruses and the European Scientific Working group on Influenza. In addition to previously being an editorial Board Member for the Journal of General Virology, Microbes and Infection she is currently an associate editor of Eurosurveillance. She is regularly requested to serve as en expert on various committees of international organizations such as the WHO and the ECDC.
Pr. van der Werf’s research interests previously in the field of picornaviruses on the molecular genetics of poliovirus and Mengo virus, and their use as vectors for vaccines and RNA immunisation, have been focused on respiratory viruses since 1996, particularly dealing with molecular epidemiology and molecular genetics aimed at the identification of determinants of species specificity and sensitivity to antivirals of influenza viruses and the evaluation of vaccine strategies against SARS coronavirus. She is the author of over 90 original scientific papers and more than 30 other scientific publications.
