BORGOGNA Cinzia
Research Activity
Brief Research Description
Cinzia Borgogna, PhD, is a virologist working at the Molecular Virology laboratory of UPO. With fifteen years of experience, she specializes in oncogenic viruses, specifically Human Papillomaviruses and Polyomaviruses. In response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, she has been actively involved in developing innovative technologies for managing the infection, including VSV-based neutralization assays to assess the host immune response against SARS-CoV-2 infection and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) protocols to detect SARS-CoV-2 viral load in various biological samples, including saliva. Her research activity is currently focused on the role of the viral sensor and restriction factor IFI16 during coronavirus infection. Using the highly pathogenic SARS-CoV-2 and the low pathogenic NL63 viruses in IFI16-depleted cells, she aims to characterize the RNA binding activity of IFI16 and how it modulates both viral replication and the innate immune response.
Keywords
Virology, Oncogenic viruses, Coronavirus, IFI16, Innate immunity