1-Meet the Scientist: Watch interview with Dr Frederick Hayden who is an expert in antivirals to influenza. What are the targets and mechanisms of action of antiviral drugs to influenza? Why are there so few antivirals to influenza available? What are the problems with treating influenza with antivirals?
2-Drug resistance is a major obstacle for the development of antiviral therapies. How does resistance arise and why is it such a significant problem? Why do multi-drug combinations therapies help alleviate this problem? Give examples with a specific virus.
3-The first drug to be rationally developed to treat a viral disease was that of acyclovir for herpes virus infections. Read the first person account of the discovery of acyclovir by Nobel laureate Gertrude Elion. How does acyclovir inhibit a herpes virus infection? Why is it specific for virally infected cells, but not normal cells?
4-Meet the Scientist: Watch this short interview about how influenza vaccines are produced with Dr Derek Smith at the 2010 Interscience Conference on Antibacterial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC). Why is a new vaccine required for influenza each year? What is the Global Influenza Surveillance Network and how do they select a new vaccine each year? What type of vaccine is the seasonal influenza vaccine?
5-A major problem with vaccinating populations against Influenza A viruses is that a new vaccine must be developed each year. In the last few years, ideas have been proposed for making "Universal Influenza Vaccines" that would provide universal immunity against all or most strains of influenza A. The lab of Peter Palese at the Mt Sinai Medical Center has recently proposed a method for generating a universal vaccine using a "headless HA." Read the original paper and/or listen to the short interview with Peter Palese. What is his concept for generating a universal influenza vaccine? Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not? Could this concept be applied to develop vaccines for other viruses such as HIV?