Vet Med Faces of Research: Dr. Sunil More

Monday, May 3, 2021

Media Contact: Derinda Blakeney, APR | OSU College of Veterinary Medicine | 405-744-6740 | derinda@okstate.edu

Sunil More, BVSc and AH, MVSc, Ph.D., DACVP, is an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology. He has been involved in respiratory virus diseases research for a decade.

“My lab is focusing on two major respiratory infections,” More said. “First is flu and second is COVID-19. We now know how tremendously these viruses impact human health. To fight these viruses, we need to understand how these viruses infect and damage our lungs. Two ways we study these viruses are using cell culture models and animal models. These models help us understand clinical as well as molecular progression of the disease.

“The most exciting thing about my research is that I get to connect the dots between clinical disease and its mechanism. As a pathologist, I get to see at the microscopic level what happens to the lungs during viral infections and how they respond to the lung injury.”

According to More, a typical day in his laboratory involves histopathology of the lungs to understand patterns of lung injury. More and his team also extract genetic material from the lungs to understand how the gene level changes are happening due to viral infections.

“We’re also trying to develop a COPD model in mice,” he said. “The current models available have some limitations. They do not exhibit all the facets of this disease. We have added a few of the drugs that can mimic all the aspects of COPD patients in mice. This model will also help us study viral infections, such as flu and COVID-19, in COPD patients.

“Success in my books is being able to understand how viruses infect and damage our lungs. Our body responds to viruses in so many ways. It’s like a football game. Not every cell in our body will score a touchdown. But every cell has to play a certain role and eventually, someone will score a touchdown and we will get a win over the virus. If at the end of the day I’m able to figure out some of the key players and their role in viral infections, I will be very happy.”

Vet Med Faces of Research is a monthly series designed to inform the public about the impact of the numerous studies being conducted at Oklahoma State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Advancing knowledge and understanding for the benefit of the lives and livelihoods of the people of Oklahoma is a critical element of OSU’s land-grant mission. If you would like to support research at the college, please contact Ashley Hesser, director of development with the OSU Foundation, at 405-385-0715 or ahesser@osugiving.com.