Associate Professor Sylvie Alonso

Biography

Dr Alonso obtained her PhD degree in Microbiology and Molecular Biology from the University Claude Bernard Lyon I (France) in 1998. She subsequently moved to Pasteur Institute of Lille (France) for a 4-year post-doctoral training where she developed bacterial vaccine delivery systems. Dr Alonso then spent 2 years at Cornell University (NY, USA) as a Research Fellow where she worked on Tuberculosis. In 2004, she was awarded the Lee Kuan Yew post-doctoral fellowship and joined the Department of Microbiology at NUS. She was recruited as an Assistant Professor in 2007 and promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2013.

Research Interest

Host-pathogen Interactions - Development of mouse models of infections. Our research interests involve exploring host-pathogen interactions in order to better understand the role of bacterial/viral virulence factors in pathogenicity and in the induction of host (immune) responses. In particular, we currently focus on the mechanisms involved in i) persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, ii) neurovirulence/neurotropism of Enterovirus 71 responsible for Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD), and iii) Dengue disease severity. In addition to in vitro cell culture systems, we have developed and established mouse models of infection. This has led us to offer these mouse models of infection for in vivo efficacy testing of drug candidates. In particular, our dengue asymptomatic transient viremia mouse models as well as our symptomatic models upon primary dengue infection or in the context of circulating enhancing antibodies have attracted many collaborations and partnerships with academic and private sectors both locally and internationally.

Current Projects

• Persistence mechanisms of M. tuberculosis
• Dengue pathogenesis and development of an animal model of severe dengue
• Enterovirus 71 neuropathogenesis
• Subunit vaccine development

Recent Publications

1. Kavishna R, Kang TY, Vacca M, Chua YL, Park HY, TAN PS, Chow VTK, Lahoud M, Alonso S (2022). A Single Shot Vaccine Approach for the Universal Influenza A Vaccine Candidate M2e- Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA 119 (13) e2025607119 doi 10.1073/pnas.2025607119
2. Yeo H, Chong WC, Chen WE, Lim ZQ, Ng QY, Yan B, Chu JJH, Chow VTK, Alonso S (2022). A single amino acid substitution in structural protein VP2 abrogates the neurotropism of Enterovirus A-71 in mice. Frontiers in Microbiology 17 March 2022 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.821976
3. Foo J, Bellot G, Pervaiz S, S Alonso (2022). Mitochondria-mediated oxidative stress during viral infection. Trends in Microbiology- Jan18:S0966-842X(21)00318-8 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2021.12.01
4. Cheang YZN, Ting DHR, Koh HQV, Alonso S (2021). In vitro and in vivo efficacy of Metformin against dengue. Antiviral Res. 195:105186. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2021.105186.
5. Ang Pei Yi, Chong WHC, Alonso S (2021). Viral determinants that drive Enterovirus-A71 fitness and virulence. Emerg. Microbes Infect. 10(1):713-724. doi : 10.1080/22221751.2021.1906754
6. Lim ZQ, Ng QY, OO Y, Chu JJH, Ng SY, Sze SK, Alonso S (2021). Enterovirus-A71 exploits peripherin and Rac1 to invade the central nervous system. EMBO Rep 22(6):e51777. doi: 10.15252/embr.202051777