Dr Isabelle Dietrich

Dr. Isabelle Dietrich graduated from the University of Glasgow with a PhD in Virology in 2013, where she characterised feline restriction factors against feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and other feline lentiviruses. Isabelle then joined Alain Kohl’s group at the Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow as a postdoctoral research associate on the EMIDA “RiftVectors” consortium. Here, she investigated mosquito immune responses to the Phlebovirus Rift Valley fever virus, in particular the role of RNA interference and small non-coding RNAs in the control of arthropod-borne (arbo)viral replication. In 2016, Isabelle became a member of the Simmonds lab at the University of Oxford where she studied the immune recognition of RNA viral genome composition and structure.

Isabelle joined The Pirbright Institute as a Fellow in 2018 and leads the Mosquito Immunity group. Her research focuses on the recognition of arboviruses by the mosquito immune system and the characterisation of viral pathogenicity determinants, combining molecular virology, immunology and entomology techniques.

In light of the recent global emergence of arboviruses such as Zika, chikungunya and Rift Valley fever viruses and the associated significant threat to public and animal health and local economies, Isabelle’s work aims at the identification of novel strategies to control arbovirus replication and transmission by their mosquito vectors.

Isabelle's expertise in high containment virology enabled her to support the Institute's SARS-CoV-2 research and training efforts.