Professor Emma Thomson

Professor in Infectious Diseases (Centre for Virus Research)
Associate (School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing)

telephone: 01413302928
email: Emma.Thomson@glasgow.ac.uk

MRC Centre for Virus Research, Sir Michael Stoker building, 464 Bearsden Road, Glasgow, G61 1qh

ORCID iD https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1482-0889

Research interests

Acute HCV UK:

My laboratory focusses on investigation of the mechanisms behind spontaneous clearance of early hepatitis C infection (up to 50% of infected individuals clear the virus without treatment) in order to advance the search for an effective vaccine. We follow a cohort of more than 200 patients in Glasgow and London who have been identified with early infection and who have been recruited and followed-up regularly following diagnosis. We aim to identify novel B and T cell epitopes recognised during acute HCV infection using next-generation sequencing of the entire genome and functional assays including flow cytometry, ELISpots, neutralisation assays and replicon systems. This project is funded by Wellcome.

‌Hepatitis C diversity and response to treatment in sub-Saharan Africa

While hepatitis C is well characterised in Europe and the United States, the diversity of strains in Africa are quite different and clinical trials have not been carried out in the region. We have recently identified genotypes, rare in Europe but common in Africa that are associated with a reduced response to direct acting antiviral treatments. It will be essential to monitor response to treatment carefully in sub-Saharan Africa in order to achieve the WHO target of elimination by 2030.

New and emerging viral infections in Africa: Emerging viral infections are an ever-present threat to human and animal health and have often emerged from sub-Saharan Africa. The risk of transmission of viruses to previously unexposed populations has increased as a result of increased global travel, global warming and changes in our ecosystem and human behaviour. In the last 100 years, the emergence of HIV has resulted in at least 35 million deaths while more recently, Zika virus and Ebola virus caused health crises requiring major local and international interventions. Other viral infections (including unidentified infections) remain an unquantified threat to human and animal health. In order to address these risks effectively, major efforts need to be made to improve the infrastructure for identifying risks, developing treatments and vaccines and implementing these interventions in real time.

A vital tool used to detect potential threats in human, animal and environmental samples is next generation sequencing (NGS). We are currently using NGS to detect new and emerging viruses in East and West Africa (Uganda) in febrile undiagnosed patients. We are also engaged in improving local diagnostic capacity in the MRC centres in these countries so that undiagnosed new or emerging infections may be detected at source in the future, allowing more rapid control interventions. The CVR provided diagnostic support for the UK response to the Ebola virus outbreak in Sierra Leone (Dr Davis from my laboratory) and we were also involved in local real-time sequencing of EBOV from an infected patient with disease recurrence in Glasgow. These emerging viral infection projects are funded by the MRC and by the Scottish Research Council.

In February 2020 we commenced sequencing of the novel coronavirus SARS2-CoV within the UK in collaboration with the Universities of Liverpool and Edinburgh.

Clinical role: I work as an infectious diseases and general (internal) medicine consultant with specialist interests in early hepatitis C infection, HCV drug resistance and co-infection at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and have experience looking after patients with a wide range of infectious diseases. I am a member of the British HIV Association Hepatitis Sub-committee and work as an external consultant for the World Health Organisation. I have served on the Guidelines Development Group (GDG) for the WHO Guidelines for the Care, Screening and Treatment of Hepatitis C since 2015 and wrote the first draft of the guidelines in 2014.

Publications

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Number of items: 54.

2020

Sabir, S. R., Thomson, E. C. , Guzik, T. J., D’Acquisto, F. and Maffia, P. (2020) COVID-19: the new immune challenge. Frontiers for Young Minds, 8, 582971. (doi: 10.3389/frym.2020.582971)

Bradshaw, D. et al. (2020) Transmission of hepatitis C virus in HIV‐positive and PrEP‐using MSM in England. Journal of Viral Hepatitis, 27(7), pp. 721-730. (doi: 10.1111/jvh.13286) (PMID:32115809)

Guzik, T. J. et al. (2020) COVID-19 and the cardiovascular system: implications for risk assessment, diagnosis, and treatment options. Cardiovascular Research, (doi: 10.1093/cvr/cvaa106) (Early Online Publication)

Mayanja, M. N., Mwiine, F. N., Kohl, A. , Thomson, E. C. and Lutwama, J. J. (2020) An update on the mosquito species composition and diversity in western and North Western Uganda. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, 8(2), pp. 1074-1086.

Fawsitt, C. G. et al. (2020) Cost-effectiveness analysis of baseline testing for resistance-associated polymorphisms to optimize treatment outcome in genotype 1 noncirrhotic treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C virus. Value in Health, 23(2), pp. 180-190. (doi: 10.1016/j.jval.2019.08.012) (PMID:32113623) (PMCID:PMC7057278)

2019

Bradshaw, D. et al. (2019) Consensus recommendations for resistance testing in the management of chronic hepatitis C virus infection: Public Health England HCV Resistance Group. Journal of Infection, 79(6), pp. 503-512. (doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2019.10.007) (PMID:31629015)

Childs, K. et al. (2019) Suboptimal SVR rates in African patients with atypical Genotype 1 subtypes: implications for global elimination of Hepatitis C. Journal of Hepatology, 71(6), pp. 1099-1105. (doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2019.07.025) (PMID:31400349)

Davis, C. et al. (2019) Postexposure prophylaxis with rVSV-ZEBOV following exposure to a patient with ebola virus disease relapse in the United Kingdom: an operational, safety, and immunogenicity report. Clinical Infectious Diseases, (doi: 10.1093/cid/ciz1165) (PMID:31784751) (Early Online Publication)

Davis, C. et al. (2019) Post-exposure prophylaxis with rVSV-ZEBOV following exposure to a patient with Ebola virus disease relapse in the UK: an operational, safety and immunogenicity report. Clinical Infectious Diseases, (doi: 10.1093/cid/ciz1165) (PMID:31784751) (Early Online Publication)

Baylis, S. A. et al. (2019) Development of a World Health Organization International Reference Panel for different genotypes of hepatitis E virus for nucleic acid amplification testing. Journal of Clinical Virology, 119, pp. 60-67. (doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2019.05.006) (PMID:31431408)

Jerome, H. et al. (2019) Metagenomic next-generation sequencing aids the diagnosis of viral infections in febrile returning travellers. Journal of Infection, 79(4), pp. 383-388. (doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2019.08.003) (PMID:31398374) (PMCID:PMC6859916)

Ankcorn, M. et al. (2019) Convalescent plasma therapy for persistent hepatitis E virus infection. Journal of Hepatology, 71(2), pp. 434-438. (doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2019.04.008) (PMID:31075322)

Fawsitt, C. G. et al. (2019) A cost-effectiveness analysis of shortened direct-acting antiviral treatment in genotype 1 noncirrhotic treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis C virus. Value in Health, 22(6), pp. 693-703. (doi: 10.1016/j.jval.2018.12.011) (PMID:31198187) (PMCID:PMC6588649)

Singer, J. B. et al. (2019) Interpreting viral deep sequencing data with GLUE. Viruses, 11(4), 323. (doi: 10.3390/v11040323) (PMID:30987147) (PMCID:PMC6520954)

Davis, C. et al. (2019) New highly diverse hepatitis C strains detected in sub‐Saharan Africa have unknown susceptibility to direct‐acting antiviral treatments. Hepatology, 69(4), pp. 1426-1441. (doi: 10.1002/hep.30342) (PMID:30387174) (PMCID:PMC6492010)

Ansari, M. A. et al. (2019) Interferon lambda 4 impacts the genetic diversity of hepatitis C virus. eLife, 8, e42463. (doi: 10.7554/eLife.42463.001) (PMID:31478835) (PMCID:PMC6721795)

2018

Singer, J. B., Thomson, E. C. , McLauchlan, J. , Hughes, J. and Gifford, R. J. (2018) GLUE: a flexible software system for virus sequence data. BMC Bioinformatics, 19, 532. (doi: 10.1186/s12859-018-2459-9) (PMID:30563445) (PMCID:PMC6299651)

Mercuri, L., Thomson, E. C. , Hughes, J. and Karayiannis, P. (2018) Quasispecies changes with distinctive point mutations in the Hepatitis C virus internal ribosome entry site (IRES) derived from PBMCs and plasma. Advances in Virology, 2018, 4835252. (doi: 10.1155/2018/4835252) (PMID:30581467) (PMCID:PMC6276526)

Thomson, E. (2018) HIV and HCV co-infection - Does it matter in the era of direct-acting antiviral therapies? Microbiology Today, 45(4), pp. 176-179.

da Silva Filipe, A. et al. (2018) Reply to: "Reply to: 'Response to DAA therapy in the NHS England Early Access Programme for rare HCV subtypes from low and middle income countries'". Journal of Hepatology, 68(4), pp. 864-866. (doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2017.11.044) (PMID:29339112)

2017

da Silva Filipe, A. et al. (2017) Response to DAA therapy in the NHS England early access programme for rare HCV subtypes from low and middle income countries. Journal of Hepatology, 67(6), pp. 1348-1350. (doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2017.06.035) (PMID:28789880)

Niebel, M., Singer, J. B., Nickbakhsh, S. , Gifford, R. J. and Thomson, E. C. (2017) Hepatitis C and the absence of genomic data in low-income countries: a barrier on the road to elimination? Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2(10), pp. 700-701. (doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(17)30257-1) (PMID:28895545)

Shepherd, S. J., Black, H., Thomson, E. C. and Gunson, R. N. (2017) HIV positive patient with GBS-like syndrome. JMM Case Reports, 4(8), e005107. (doi: 10.1099/jmmcr.0.005107) (PMID:29026634) (PMCID:PMC5610709)

Ansari, M. A. et al. (2017) Genome-to-genome analysis highlights the effect of the human innate and adaptive immune systems on the hepatitis C virus. Nature Genetics, 49(5), pp. 666-673. (doi: 10.1038/ng.3835) (PMID:28394351)

2016

Thomson, E. et al. (2016) Comparison of next generation sequencing technologies for the comprehensive assessment of full-length hepatitis C viral genomes. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 54(10), pp. 2470-2484. (doi: 10.1128/JCM.00330-16) (PMID:27385709) (PMCID:PMC5035407)

Jacobs, M. et al. (2016) Late Ebola virus relapse causing meningoencephalitis: a case report. Lancet, 388(10043), pp. 498-503. (doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30386-5) (PMID:27209148) (PMCID:PMC4967715)

Martin, N. K. et al. (2016) Can HCV direct-acting antiviral treatment as prevention reverse the HCV epidemic amongst men who have sex with men in the UK - epidemiological and modelling insights. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 62(9), pp. 1072-1080. (doi: 10.1093/cid/ciw075) (PMID:26908813) (PMCID:PMC4826456)

Swann, R. E. , Cowton, V. M., Robinson, M. W., Cole, S. J., Barclay, S. T., Mills, P. R., Thomson, E. C. , McLauchlan, J. and Patel, A. (2016) Broad anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody responses are associated with improved clinical disease parameters in chronic HCV infection. Journal of Virology, 90(9), pp. 4530-4543. (doi: 10.1128/JVI.02669-15) (PMID:26912610) (PMCID:PMC4836347)

Robinson, M. W., Hughes, J. , Wilkie, G. S., Swann, R. , Barclay, S. T., Mills, P. R., Patel, A. H. , Thomson, E. C. and McLauchlan, J. (2016) Tracking TCRß sequence clonotype expansions during antiviral therapy using high-throughput sequencing of the hypervariable region. Frontiers in Immunology, 7, 131. (doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2016.00131) (PMID:27092143) (PMCID:PMC4820669)

Padam, P., Clark, S., Irving, W., Gellissen, R., Thomson, E. , Main, J. and Cooke, G.S. (2016) Reduced healthcare utilization following successful hepatitis C virus treatment in HIV-co-infected patients with mild liver disease. Journal of Viral Hepatitis, 23(2), pp. 123-129. (doi: 10.1111/jvh.12484) (PMID:26511293) (PMCID:PMC4924594)

Martin, F., Lee, J., Thomson, E. , Tarrant, N., Hale, A. and Lacey, C. J. (2016) Two cases of possible transmitted drug resistant HIV virus: likely HIV superinfection and unmasking of pre-existing resistance. International Journal of STD and AIDS, 27(1), pp. 66-69. (doi: 10.1177/0956462415571671) (PMID:25663247) (PMCID:PMC4674743)

2015

Jerome, H., Vattipally, S. B. and Thomson, E. C. (2015) Can we identify potential viral zoonoses before they cross the species barrier? Microbiology Today, 42(4), pp. 150-153.

Gaunt, E., Harvala, H., Osterback, R., Sreenu, V. B. , Thomson, E. , Waris, M. and Simmonds, P. (2015) Genetic characterization of human coxsackievirus A6 variants associated with atypical hand, foot and mouth disease: a potential role of recombination in emergence and pathogenicity. Journal of General Virology, 96(5), pp. 1067-1079. (doi: 10.1099/vir.0.000062) (PMID:25614593) (PMCID:PMC4631059)

Abdelrahman, T., Hughes, J. , Main, J., McLauchlan, J. , Thursz, M. and Thomson, E. (2015) Reply. Hepatology, 61(4), p. 1438. (doi: 10.1002/hep.27393) (PMID:25147121) (PMCID:PMC4407921)

Ardelrahman, T., Hughes, J. , Main, J., McLauchlan, J. , Thursz, M. and Thomson, E. (2015) Waiting time and transplantation for hepatocellular cancer: a balance between tempus fugit and carpe diem. Hepatology, 61(4), pp. 1438-1439. (doi: 10.1002/hep.27434)

Shepherd, S. J., Abdelrahman, T., MacLean, A. R., Thomson, E. C. , Aitken, C. and Gunson, R. N. (2015) Prevalence of HCV NS3 pre-treatment resistance associated amino acid variants within a Scottish cohort. Journal of Clinical Virology, 65, pp. 50-53. (doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2015.02.005) (PMID:25766988) (PMCID:PMC4728298)

Abdelrahman, T., Hughes, J. , Main, J., McLauchlan, J. , Thursz, M. and Thomson, E. (2015) Next generation sequencing sheds light on the natural history of hepatitis C infection in patients that fail treatment. Hepatology, 61(1), pp. 88-97. (doi: 10.1002/hep.27192) (PMID:24797101) (PMCID:PMC4303934)

2014

McNaughton, A.L., Thomson, E.C. , Templeton, K., Gunson, R.N. and McWilliam Leitch, E.C. (2014) Mixed genotype hepatitis C infections and implications for treatment. Hepatology, 59(3), p. 1209. (doi: 10.1002/hep.26544) (PMID:23744801) (PMCID:PMC4296219)

2013

Leggewie, M., Sreenu, V. B. , Abdelrahman, T., Leitch, E. C., Wilkie, G., Klymenko, T., Muir, D., Thursz, M., Main, J. and Thomson, E.C. (2013) Natural NS3 resistance polymorphisms occur frequently prior to treatment in HIV-positive patients with acute hepatitis C. AIDS, 27(15), pp. 2485-2488. (doi: 10.1097/QAD.0b013e328363b1f9) (PMID:23770494)

2011

Thomson, E.C. , Smith, J.A. and Klenerman, P. (2011) The natural history of early hepatitis C virus evolution; lessons from a global outbreak in human immunodeficiency virus-1-infected individuals. Journal of General Virology, 92(10), pp. 2227-2236. (doi: 10.1099/vir.0.033910-0)

Thomson, E.C. , Fleming, V.M., Main, J., Klenerman, P., Weber, J., Eliahoo, J., Smith, J., McClure, M.O. and Karayiannis, P. (2011) Predicting spontaneous clearance of acute hepatitis C virus in a large cohort of HIV-1-infected men. Gut, 60(6), pp. 837-845. (doi: 10.1136/gut.2010.217166)

2010

Huang, K.-H.G. et al. (2010) B-cell depletion reveals a role for antibodies in the control of chronic HIV-1 infection. Nature Communications, 1, p. 102. (doi: 10.1038/ncomms1100)

Smith, J.A., Aberle, J.H., Fleming, V.M., Ferenci, P., Thomson, E.C. , Karayiannis, P., McLean, A.R., Holzmann, H. and Klenerman, P. (2010) Dynamic coinfection with multiple viral subtypes in acute hepatitis C. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 202(12), pp. 1770-1779. (doi: 10.1086/657317)

Winston, A. et al. (2010) Does acute hepatitis C infection affect the central nervous system in HIV-1 infected individuals? Journal of Viral Hepatitis, 17(6), pp. 419-426. (doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2009.01198.x)

2009

Thomson, E.C. , Nastouli, E., Main, J., Karayiannis, P., Eliahoo, J., Muir, D. and McClure, M.O. (2009) Delayed anti-HCV antibody response in HIV-positive men acutely infected with HCV. AIDS, 23(1), pp. 89-93. (doi: 10.1097/QAD.0b013e32831940a3)

Nastouli, E., Thomson, E.C. , Karayiannis, P., Main, J., McClure, M. and Muir, D. (2009) Diagnosing acute hepatitis C in HIV-infected patients: nucleic acid testing compared with antibody and antigen-antibody detecting methods. Journal of Clinical Virology, 44(1), pp. 78-80. (doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2008.09.008)

2008

Fox, J., Nastouli, E., Thomson, E.C. , Muir, D., McClure, M., Weber, J. and Fidler, S. (2008) Increasing incidence of acute hepatitis C in individuals diagnosed with primary HIV in the United Kingdom. AIDS, 22(5), pp. 666-668. (doi: 10.1097/QAD.0b013e3282f5f4cf)

Thomson, E.C. and Main, J. (2008) Epidemiology of hepatitis C virus infection in HIV-infected individuals. Journal of Viral Hepatitis, 15(11), pp. 773-781. (doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2008.00981.x)

2007

Garvey, L., Thomson, E.C. , Main, J. and Winston, A. (2007) Response to "Persistence of neuropsychologic deficits despite long-term highly active antiretroviral therapy in patients with HIV-related neurocognitive impairment". JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 46(5), pp. 656-657. (doi: 10.1097/QAI.0b013e318157b0c8)

Garvey, L.J., Thomson, E.C. , Lloyd, J., Cooke, G.S., Goldin, R.D. and Main, J. (2007) Response to Mallet et al., 'Nodular regenerative hyperplasia is a new cause of chronic liver disease in HIV-infected patients'. AIDS, 21(11), pp. 1494-1495. (doi: 10.1097/QAD.0b013e3281e7ed64)

2006

Bloom, C., Thomson, E.C. and Main, J. (2006) An elderly lady with sudden blindness and a sore foot. Journal of Infection, 52(2), e53-e54. (doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2005.05.002)

Garvey, L., Thomson, E.C. and Taylor, G.P. (2006) Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy: prolonged survival in patients treated with protease inhibitors and cidofovir: a case series. AIDS, 20(5), pp. 791-793. (doi: 10.1097/01.aids.0000216390.83351.87)

2004

Thomson, E.C. and Main, J. (2004) Advances in hepatitis B and C. Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases, 17(5), pp. 449-459.

2003

Thomson, E.C. and Lynn, W.A. (2003) Septic thrombophlebitis with multiple pulmonary abscesses. Lancet Infectious Diseases, 3(2), p. 86. (doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(03)00516-4)

This list was generated on Sat Oct 24 12:14:44 2020 BST.

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