ProfessorNicola Fletcher

The current research focus of the laboratory is on zoonotic viral disease, with a special interest in hepatitis E virus and flaviviruses.

Hepatitis E is an emerging viral infection that has been associated with transmission to humans through the consumption of infected pork meat. As the virus is extremely challenging to culture in the laboratory, current research is focused on the development of novel models to allow efficient culture of hepatitis E in laboratory systems, and to understand the risk of different sources of hepatitis E in human infections. We use advanced imaging, including soft x-ray microscopy to understand structural changes in infected cells during hepatitis E infection. Our current ERC Synergy grant aims to provide insights into the subcellular interactions of viruses with their target cells. See https://ucd.ie/nanox for further details.

In collaboration with Dr Simone Ciuti and the National Virus Reference Laboratory at UCD, we are monitoring a population of wild fallow deer in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, for SARS-CoV-2 infection, and have detected antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in this population since 2022. In collaboration with Prof Wim Meijer and his group at UCD, we are conducting surveillance studies to detect SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid and virus in sewage and waterways, with the National Wastewater Surveillance Programme, which monitors SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater treatment plants across Ireland. 

We are part of the ALLIES-Z-Path project, funded by DAFM, developing tools to monitor wildlife and domestic animals for emerging flaviviruses. This project aims to develop pandemic preparedness tools for future disease outbreaks. 

If you are interested in joining the laboratory, please do not hesitate to contact Nicola.fletcher@ucd.ie for more information.