Question: what age were you when you decided you wanted to look at cell zaping viruses and why?

Kinda Al-Hourani answered on 20 Jun 2013:

Hey!

Thanks for the question. So, I’ve been researching how our cells zap viruses for two years (starting when I was 21), but have been intrigued by it for a few years. I partly picked to study because there are so many serious and diverse diseases caused by viruses, so from the perspective of training to be a doctor this is a really relevant area to work in.

My main reason, however, is that the interaction between viruses and human cells is fascinating. Not only do we share similar patterns in our DNA (around 8% of our genetic code was originally found in viruses), we have even “adopted” some virus proteins to fulfill important functions in our own bodies. For example, the placenta (the life-support system which connects a developing fetus in the womb) needs a special protein to form its unique structure, and this protein, incredibly, was borrowed from a virus millions of years ago!