Author name: Gertrud U. Rey

Gertrud Rey (who also goes by Trudy Rey) is a trained virologist who resides in Atlanta, Georgia. She has a PhD in molecular genetics and biochemistry from Georgia State University, where her studies involved the analysis of various aspects of the genetics of West Nile virus and simian hemorrhagic fever virus. After finishing the PhD program in 2007, she accepted a post-doctoral fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she continued to study virology in the context of respiratory syncytial virus, with a more pronounced focus on immunology. During that time, she was also a lecturer at Georgia State University, where she designed an undergraduate biology course and supervised teaching assistants at the university’s biology laboratory. In 2012, she decided to retire from bench science and lecturing to pursue a career in patent law. She is now registered as a patent agent at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and works for a major law firm. Her day to day responsibilities include preparing and prosecuting U.S. and international patent applications in the field of molecular and cell biology, virology, biochemistry, genetic engineering, tissue engineering, transgenic biology, stem cell research, immunology, drug delivery, phage therapeutics, and medical devices. However, Trudy still spends much of her free time communicating science, both for virology blog, and for her very own YouTube channel, where she hosts a show about viruses called “Catch This.” You can also find her on X, under the handle “Dr. T.” Trudy was also a guest on TWiV 179 and 424.

How the Viruses Within Us Protect Us From Other Viruses

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by Gertrud U. Rey Did you know that eight percent of the human genome consists of DNA sequences that are derived from retroviruses? These “endogenous retroviruses” (ERVs) represent concrete evidence for retroviral infections that occurred in our ancestors. Although ERVs have no viral activity, an accumulating body of evidence suggests that they are not entirely …

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