Dr. Eloi Verrier has been awarded « chargé de recherche Inserm » within U1110 research unit in 2018. Currently, his research focuses on virus-host interactions in the context of hepatitis B and D virus (HBV and HDV) infections for the development of new therapeutic strategies.

Chonic HBV infection is the leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. Hepatocyte co-infection by HDV, a small HBV satellite virus, leads to more severe liver damages and an increased risk of developing liver cancer. To date, no treatment allows viral cure. In the context of novel therapeutic strategies, host-targeting agents have recently emerged as promising candidates. For that, in collaboration with the high-throughput screening platform from IGBMC (Illkirch, France), Dr Verrier uncovered novel host factors involved in HBV and HDV life cycle. In parallel, toghether with the University of Freiburg (Germany), Dr Verrier is working on optimizing an innovative model for the study of the HBV specific cccDNA and on the characterization of host factors involved in its formation.

The discovery of new therapeutic agents targeting these candidate host factors constitutes a major step towards the development of novel treatments for HBV and HDV cure.