"Sequencing Viruses - Anything New?" Guest Lecture by Kristi Huik, Associate Professor in Medical Microbiology and Virology

Kristi Huik, Associate Professor in Medical Microbiology and Virology at the University of Tartu, presented a lecture titled “Sequencing the Viruses: Anything New?” at the OH-BOOST on 12th of April 2024. Students from the Estonian University of Life Sciences and the University of Tartu, along with our OH-BOOST team, joined to learn. 

Kristi brought us two topics: COVID-19 sequencing and HIV drug resistance and its transmission in Estonia.

In Estonia, sequencing of viruses has been used to track the evolution of SARS-CoV-2, with almost real-time sequencing and standardized bioinformatics pipelines enabling to characterize the dynamics of the virus and its variants. Kristi walked us through the SARS-CoV-2 research conducted by KoroGeno-EST team led by her. Analysis of viral sequences complemented with epidemiological and clinical data showed how different variants emerged and dominated throughout COVID-19 pandemic with varying degrees of hospitalization rates depending on variant.

Her group has been studying how HIV evolves in Estonia, particularly focusing on how HIV drug resistance emerges and spreads. Over the years, HIV drug resistance has been steadily increasing and it indicates the need for pre-treatment resistance testing. Moreover, since 2017, the cases of drug resistance to one of the most recent drugs called integrase inhibitors has been detected. Kristi highlighted that second-generation integrase inhibitors are a very promising treatment but the emerging resistance to them is a concern.

Kristi Huik's lecture provided valuable insights into the ongoing research efforts in Estonia regarding SARS-CoV-2 and HIV. Through viral genome sequencing, researchers are gaining a deeper understanding of how viruses evolve and spread, aiding in the development of effective prevention and treatment strategies. The findings presented underscore the importance of continuous surveillance and research to stay ahead of these evolving threats.