School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine

Miss Hollie French

  • Research Assistant (Host-Parasite Interactions & Pathogenesis)

Biography

 My ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4325-0141 

Research interests

  • Landscape molecular epidemiology
  • Viral genetics
  • Population genetics
  • Nanopore sequencing
  • Wildlife and livestock disease
 
I am broadly interested in the impact of landscape, environmental and anthropogenic or managment factors on the dynamics and control of infectious diseases. In my PhD, I implemented regional genomic surveillance and phylogentic analysis of wildlife rabies via a collaborative network across Central America and Mexico. I also investigated the population genetics of vampire bats (key rabies host) at fine scale within Costa Rica. In my future work, I aim to build on the integration of host and pathogen genetic data in a landscape and disease management context. 
 
In my current role as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant with Professor Roman Biek, I am developing and validating phylogeographic methods to investigate how landscape/host habitat impacts endemic viral persistence. In this role, I collaborate with Dr Simon Dellicour, lead of the Spatial Epidemiology Lab (SpELL) at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, where I am a Visiting Researcher.
 
Specifically my current research aims to:
  • Explore and validate new post-hoc phylogeographic methods using simulation approaches.
  • Apply methods at different geographic scales to raccoon rabies virus (RRV) and foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV).
 

Research groups

Publications

Prior publications

Thesis

Hollie French, Daniel Streicker, Jo Halliday (2025) Genomic surveillance and biogeography of vampire bat rabies in Central America and Mexico University of Glasgow Library Dr Hollie French.

Article

Rita Ribeiro et al. (2025) Roost abandonment and behavioural shifts following human disturbance of vampire bats in complex landscapes Crossref. (doi: 10.1101/2025.05.20.655023)

Elizaveta Elshina et al. (2024) Influenza A virus transcription generates capped cRNAs that activate RIG-I Crossref. (doi: 10.1101/2024.11.12.623191)

Hollie French, Emmanuelle Pitré, Michael S. Oade, Elizaveta Elshina, Karishma Bisht, Alannah King, David L.V. Bauer, Aartjan J.W. te Velthuis (2022) Transient RNA structures cause aberrant influenza virus replication and innate immune activation Science Advances Crossref. (doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abp8655)

(2022) Transient RNA structures cause aberrant influenza virus replication and innate immune activation Dr Hollie French. (doi: 10.1101/2022.01.25.476955)

(2021) Zinc-Embedded Polyamide Fabrics Inactivate SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A Virus ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Dr Hollie French. ISSN 1944-8252 (doi: 10.1021/acsami.1c04412)

(2018) Mini viral RNAs act as innate immune agonists during influenza virus infection Nature Microbiology Dr Hollie French. ISSN 2058-5276 (doi: 10.1038/s41564-018-0240-5)

() Zinc-embedded fabrics inactivate SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus Dr Hollie French.

Supervision

Co-supervision of UofG Bachelors student project: Phylogenetic analysis of vampire bat rabies virus to explore expansion of viral spread and origins of new outbreaks.

Initiation and support of University of Costa Rica Licensiatura student project. 


Miss Hollie French on Bluesky