Dr Aminu Jahun

Research summary:

Postdoc
- Innate immune responses against noroviruses – Working with both primary cells and cell lines, and using confocal microscopy, CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing and other molecular biology techniques, we discovered a previously unknown role of cGAS-STING in the restriction of noroviruses, and a potential viral evasion mechanism of the pathway.
- COG-UK consortium – As part of the efforts of the consortium to provide real time genomic surveillance during the COVID19 pandemic, I was involved in every step of the process from sample collection from the PHE lab to RNA extraction, library preparation, sequencing, assembly, metadata curation and data upload to CLIMB.
Graduate studies
- PhD project – we used various molecular biology techniques (virus reverse genetics, qPCR, cloning, stable expression by lentiviral transduction, cell culture, co-immunoprecipitation, etc.) to investigate the functions of the VF1 protein of the mouse norovirus.
- Masters in immunology project – Working with human PBMCs, we used flow cytometry to explore the shared and distinct phenotypes and functions of MAIT cells

Biography

I joined the Goodfellow Lab in October 2014 to work on novel sensing mechanisms of non-enveloped viruses. Before that, I graduated with a medical degree from Bayero University, Kano (Nigeria) in 2010, and a masters in immunology from the University of Oxford in 2014. In Oxford, I spent a few months in the Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research where I worked on Mucosal-Associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells in the Klenerman lab.

Publications

Key publications:

Jahun AS*, Sorgeloos F, Chaudhry Y, Arthur SE, Hosmillo M, Georgana I, Izuagbe R, Goodfellow IG. Leaked genomic and mitochondrial DNA contribute to the host response to noroviruses in a STING-dependent manner. Cell Rep. 2023 Mar 28;42(3):112179. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112179. Epub 2023 Mar 20. PMID: 36943868.
Luptak J, Mallery DL, Jahun AS, Albecka A, Clift D, Ather O, Slodkowicz G, Goodfellow I, James LC. TRIM7 Restricts Coxsackievirus and Norovirus Infection by Detecting the C-Terminal Glutamine Generated by 3C Protease Processing. Viruses. 2022 Jul 23;14(8):1610. doi: 10.3390/v14081610. PMID: 35893676; PMCID: PMC9394474.
Thorne LG, Bouhaddou M, Reuschl AK, Zuliani-Alvarez L, Polacco B, Pelin A, Batra J, Whelan MVX, Hosmillo M, Fossati A, Ragazzini R, Jungreis I, Ummadi M, Rojc A, Turner J, Bischof ML, Obernier K, Braberg H, Soucheray M, Richards A, Chen KH, Harjai B, Memon D, Hiatt J, Rosales R, McGovern BL, Jahun A, Fabius JM, White K, Goodfellow IG, Takeuchi Y, Bonfanti P, Shokat K, Jura N, Verba K, Noursadeghi M, Beltrao P, Kellis M, Swaney DL, García-Sastre A, Jolly C, Towers GJ, Krogan NJ. Evolution of enhanced innate immune evasion by SARS-CoV-2. Nature. 2022 Feb;602(7897):487-495. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-04352-y. Epub 2021 Dec 23. Erratum in: Nature. 2022 Apr;604(7905):E14. PMID: 34942634; PMCID: PMC8850198.
Aggarwal D, Warne B, Jahun AS*, Hamilton WL*, Fieldman T*, du Plessis L, Hill V, Blane B, Watkins E, Wright E, Hall G, Ludden C, Myers R, Hosmillo M, Chaudhry Y, Pinckert ML, Georgana I, Izuagbe R, Leek D, Nsonwu O, Hughes GJ, Packer S, Page AJ, Metaxaki M, Fuller S, Weale G, Holgate J, Brown CA; Cambridge Covid-19 testing Centre; University of Cambridge Asymptomatic COVID-19 Screening Programme Consortium; COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium; Howes R, McFarlane D, Dougan G, Pybus OG, Angelis D, Maxwell PH, Peacock SJ, Weekes MP, Illingworth C, Harrison EM, Matheson NJ, Goodfellow IG. Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a UK university identifies dynamics of transmission. Nat Commun. 2022 Feb 8;13(1):751. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-27942-w. PMID: 35136068; PMCID: PMC8826310.
König KMK, Jahun AS, Nayak K, Drumright LN, Zibauer M, Goodfellow I, Hosmillo M. Design, development, and validation of a strand-specific RT-qPCR assay for GI and GII human Noroviruses. Wellcome Open Res. 2021 Sep 23;6:245. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.17078.1. PMID: 34708158; PMCID: PMC8506223.
Jahun AS*, Goodfellow IG. Interferon responses to norovirus infections: current and future perspectives. J Gen Virol. 2021 Oct;102(10):001660. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001660. PMID: 34698626; PMCID: PMC8604187.
Borg C*, Jahun AS*, Thorne L, Sorgeloos F, Bailey D, Goodfellow IG. Murine norovirus virulence factor 1 (VF1) protein contributes to viral fitness during persistent infection. J Gen Virol. 2021 Sep;102(9):001651. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001651. PMID: 34491891; PMCID: PMC8567427.
Illingworth CJ, Hamilton WL, Warne B, Routledge M, Popay A, Jackson C, Fieldman T, Meredith LW, Houldcroft CJ, Hosmillo M, Jahun AS, Caller LG, Caddy SL, Yakovleva A, Hall G, Khokhar FA, Feltwell T, Pinckert ML, Georgana I, Chaudhry Y, Curran MD, Parmar S, Sparkes D, Rivett L, Jones NK, Sridhar S, Forrest S, Dymond T, Grainger K, Workman C, Ferris M, Gkrania-Klotsas E, Brown NM, Weekes MP, Baker S, Peacock SJ, Goodfellow IG, Gouliouris T, de Angelis D, Török ME. Superspreaders drive the largest outbreaks of hospital onset COVID-19 infections. Elife. 2021 Aug 24;10:e67308. doi: 10.7554/eLife.67308. PMID: 34425938; PMCID: PMC8384420.
Tonkin-Hill G, Martincorena I, Amato R, Lawson ARJ, Gerstung M, Johnston I, Jackson DK, Park N, Lensing SV, Quail MA, Gonçalves S, Ariani C, Spencer Chapman M, Hamilton WL, Meredith LW, Hall G, Jahun AS, Chaudhry Y, Hosmillo M, Pinckert ML, Georgana I, Yakovleva A, Caller LG, Caddy SL, Feltwell T, Khokhar FA, Houldcroft CJ, Curran MD, Parmar S; COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium; Alderton A, Nelson R, Harrison EM, Sillitoe J, Bentley SD, Barrett JC, Torok ME, Goodfellow IG, Langford C, Kwiatkowski D; Wellcome Sanger Institute COVID-19 Surveillance Team. Patterns of within-host genetic diversity in SARS-CoV-2. Elife. 2021 Aug 13;10:e66857. doi: 10.7554/eLife.66857. PMID: 34387545; PMCID: PMC8363274.
Hamilton WL*, Fieldman T*, Jahun A*, Warne B, Illingworth CJR, Jackson C, Blane B, Moore E, Weekes MP, Peacock SJ, De Angelis D, Goodfellow I, Gouliouris T, Török ME; Cambridge COVID-19 group. Applying prospective genomic surveillance to support investigation of hospital-onset COVID-19. Lancet Infect Dis. 2021 Jul;21(7):916-917. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00251-6. Epub 2021 May 10. PMID: 33984262; PMCID: PMC8110208.
Hamilton WL, Tonkin-Hill G, Smith ER, Aggarwal D, Houldcroft CJ, Warne B, Meredith LW, Hosmillo M, Jahun AS, Curran MD, Parmar S, Caller LG, Caddy SL, Khokhar FA, Yakovleva A, Hall G, Feltwell T, Pinckert ML, Georgana I, Chaudhry Y, Brown CS, Gonçalves S, Amato R, Harrison EM, Brown NM, Beale MA, Spencer Chapman M, Jackson DK, Johnston I, Alderton A, Sillitoe J, Langford C, Dougan G, Peacock SJ, Kwiatowski DP, Goodfellow IG, Torok ME; COVID-19 Genomics Consortium UK. Genomic epidemiology of COVID-19 in care homes in the east of England. Elife. 2021 Mar 2;10:e64618. doi: 10.7554/eLife.64618. PMID: 33650490; PMCID: PMC7997667.
Kemp SA, Collier DA, Datir RP, Ferreira IATM, Gayed S, Jahun A, Hosmillo M, Rees-Spear C, Mlcochova P, Lumb IU, Roberts DJ, Chandra A, Temperton N; CITIID-NIHR BioResource COVID-19 Collaboration; COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium; Sharrocks K, Blane E, Modis Y, Leigh KE, Briggs JAG, van Gils MJ, Smith KGC, Bradley JR, Smith C, Doffinger R, Ceron-Gutierrez L, Barcenas-Morales G, Pollock DD, Goldstein RA, Smielewska A, Skittrall JP, Gouliouris T, Goodfellow IG, Gkrania-Klotsas E, Illingworth CJR, McCoy LE, Gupta RK. SARS-CoV-2 evolution during treatment of chronic infection. Nature. 2021 Apr;592(7853):277-282. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03291-y. Epub 2021 Feb 5. Erratum in: Nature. 2022 Aug;608(7922):E23. PMID: 33545711; PMCID: PMC7610568.
Meredith LW, Hamilton WL, Warne B, Houldcroft CJ, Hosmillo M, Jahun AS, Curran MD, Parmar S, Caller LG, Caddy SL, Khokhar FA, Yakovleva A, Hall G, Feltwell T, Forrest S, Sridhar S, Weekes MP, Baker S, Brown N, Moore E, Popay A, Roddick I, Reacher M, Gouliouris T, Peacock SJ, Dougan G, Török ME, Goodfellow I. Rapid implementation of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing to investigate cases of health-care associated COVID-19: a prospective genomic surveillance study. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020 Nov;20(11):1263-1272. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30562-4. Epub 2020 Jul 14. Erratum in: Lancet Infect Dis. 2021 Mar;21(3):e36. Erratum in: Lancet Infect Dis. 2021 Mar;21(3):e36. PMID: 32679081; PMCID: PMC7806511.
Kurioka A, Jahun AS, Hannaway RF, Walker LJ, Fergusson JR, Sverremark-Ekström E, Corbett AJ, Ussher JE, Willberg CB and Klenerman P (2017) Shared and Distinct Phenotypes and Functions of Human CD161++ Vα7.2+ T Cell Subsets. Front. Immunol. 8:1031. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01031