Alex Sigal

Alex Sigal is a South Africa–based virologist at the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) in Durban, South Africa,[1] Max Plank Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin,[2] and University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. His work concentrates on evolution and persistence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. His laboratory was the first to isolate the live B.1.351 (Beta) variant of SARS-CoV-2 first detected in South Africa.[3]

Alex Sigal
Alex Sigal
Born1970
CitizenshipIsraeli, Canadian
Alma materBSc, University of Toronto,
PhD, Weizmann Institute of Science
Known forIsolation of SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.351
AwardsEMBO Fellow (2007)
Human Frontiers Long-Term fellowship (2007)
Human Frontiers Career Development Award (2012)
Scientific career
FieldsVirology
InstitutionsAfrica Health Research Institute
Max Plank Institute for Infection Biology (Berlin)
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Doctoral advisorUri Alon
Other academic advisorsDavid Baltimore
Websitehttps://www.sigallab.net/

Education

Sigal earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto, Master's degree from the Weizmann Institute of Science, and PhD in Systems Biology from the Weizmann Institute of Science under the supervision of Uri Alon.[4]

Research interests

Sigal joined the laboratory of David Baltimore in 2007 at Caltech for his postdoctoral work where he worked on problems related to HIV virology. He joined AHRI 2013 in Durban, South Africa as a Max Planck Research Group Leader affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin.[2][1] At AHRI he broadened his research to the study of drug-resistant tuberculosis and in 2020 to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Sigal's current core research is directed at understanding SARS-CoV-2 evolution and long term-persistence and its consequences for transmission, immune escape, and long Covid, with particular interest in the effects of co-infections such as HIV and TB, antibody neutralization, and cell-to-cell spread of SARS-CoV-2. In particular, Sigal's work has found that the B.1.351 variant can escape antibodies from previous infections[5][6] and that antibodies generated from an infection with the B.1.351 variant may offer cross protection against other variants.[7][8]

Awards
  • EMBO Fellow (2007)
  • Human Frontiers Long-Term fellowship (2007)[9]
  • Human Frontiers Career Development Award (2013)[10]

Selected publications
  • "Escape of SARS-CoV-2 501Y.V2 from neutralization by convalescent plasma". Nature. 593: 142–146. 2021. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03471-w.
  • "Efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Covid-19 Vaccine against the B.1.351 Variant". New England Journal of Medicine. 384: 1885–1898. 2021. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2102214.

References
  1. "Alex Sigal". Africa Health Research Institute. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  2. "Systems Infection Biology". www.mpiib-berlin.mpg.de. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  3. Cele, Sandile; Gazy, Inbal; Jackson, Laurelle; Hwa, Shi-Hsia; Tegally, Houriiyah; Lustig, Gila; Giandhari, Jennifer; Pillay, Sureshnee; Wilkinson, Eduan; Naidoo, Yeshnee; Karim, Farina (2021). "Escape of SARS-CoV-2 501Y.V2 from neutralization by convalescent plasma". Nature. 593 (7857): 142–146. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03471-w. ISSN 1476-4687.
  4. "People". Uri Alon. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  5. Callaway, Ewen (21 January 2021). "Fast-spreading COVID variant can elude immune responses". Nature. 589 (7843): 500–501. doi:10.1038/d41586-021-00121-z.
  6. "COVID strain in South Africa shows huge resistance to antibodies from original virus". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  7. Winning, Alexander (3 March 2021). "South African scientists find antibodies from variant may offer cross-protection". Reuters. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  8. "South African scientists find antibodies from variant may offer cross-protection". BreakingNews.ie. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  9. "Awards | Human Frontier Science Program". www.hfsp.org. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  10. "Awards | Human Frontier Science Program". www.hfsp.org. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
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