Paulo Verardi, Ph.D.

Department Head and Associate Professor of Virology and Vaccinology University of Connecticut

  • Storrs CT

Expert on vaccine development & virology (Smallpox, Rinderpest, Zika, coronaviruses, Rift Valley, Powassan, SFTSV, Heartland, & more)

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Spotlight

2 min

Monkeypox and children - A leading virologist explains

Though the CDC has stated there are no confirmed cases of the monkeypox virus among patients under 18 in Connecticut, a handful of cases involving children have been reported across the country. Paulo Verardi, associate professor of virology and vaccinology at UConn, is taking on some of the important questions about monkeypox and children and offering his expertise and clarity regarding a topic that has many Americans and parents concerned: Are children specifically at risk? A: “Anyone is at risk of contracting monkeypox and spreading it to other people, typically by direct, close contact, such as skin to skin contact. That includes touching monkeypox lesions that sometimes can be hard to notice, or touching and using objects such as toys, clothes, and bedding of someone that is infected. “In this context, it is important to point out that the virus can stay in the environment without losing infectivity for quite some time. Children are very active, social, and tactile, so spread in settings like schools and day care facilities is something we need to consider, particularly if the outbreak continues to evolve and infections become more widespread in diverse populations.” Does the disease traditionally present differently in younger people? Is the symptomology different? A: “In general, symptoms are similar in adults and children, although for this outbreak with this specific strain of the virus, our clinical experience in children is limited because we have had only a few cases so far. “Rash or skin lesions are typical, and fever and swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy) are also common symptoms. However, children may be at higher risk of more severe disease and complications from monkeypox, particularly if they are very young, have skin conditions like eczema, or are immunocompromised.” If you are a journalist looking to cover this topic, let us help with your stories. Paulo Verardi is a virologist who specializes in vaccine research and development and is a member of the Center of Excellence for Vaccine Research. Dr. Verardi is available to speak with media regarding virology, monkeypox, COVID-19, and other viruses – simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

Paulo Verardi, Ph.D.

2 min

How worried should you be about coronavirus variants? A virologist explains his concerns

Paulo Verardi, Associate Professor of Virology and Vaccinology at UConn, was asked to lend his expertise and opinion to The Conversation about coronavirus variants and just how concerned Americans should be about the emergence of variants and the speed at which they are spreading across the country and the globe. Spring has sprung, and there is a sense of relief in the air. After one year of lockdowns and social distancing, more than 171 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the U.S. and about 19.4% of the population is fully vaccinated. But there is something else in the air: ominous SARS-CoV-2 variants. I am a virologist and vaccinologist, which means that I spend my days studying viruses and designing and testing vaccine strategies against viral diseases. In the case of SARS-CoV-2, this work has taken on greater urgency. We humans are in a race to become immune against this cagey virus, whose ability to mutate and adapt seems to be a step ahead of our capacity to gain herd immunity. Because of the variants that are emerging, it could be a race to the wire. April 08 The Conversation  Dr. Verardi discusses the the five SARS-CoV-2 variants we all need to be watching, the rates of transmission and the severity of symptoms, and why we all need to remain on guard and get vaccinated. It is a great article, and if you are a journalist looking to cover this topic, then let us help with your stories. Dr. Paulo Verardi is a virologist who specializes in vaccine research and development and is a member of the Center of Excellence for Vaccine Research. Dr. Verardi is available to speak with media regarding variants and COVID-19 – simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

Paulo Verardi, Ph.D.

2 min

UConn Researcher Develops Successful Zika Virus Vaccine in Preclinical Studies

UConn researcher Paulo Verardi, associate professor of pathobiology and veterinary science in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, has demonstrated the success of a vaccine against Zika virus and recently published his findings in Scientific Reports, a Nature Research publication. He has also filed provisional patents with UConn’s Technology Commercialization Services for the novel vaccine platform technology used to generate the vaccine, as well as genetic modifications made to the vaccine that significantly enhance expression of the vaccine antigen. Verardi, a Brazilian native, was in Brazil visiting family in the summer of 2015 when the Zika outbreak first began to make waves and soon reached epidemic status. Back in the United States, Verardi kept tabs on the Zika epidemic and its emerging connection to microcephaly, a serious birth defect that causes babies to be born with small heads and underdeveloped brains. In October of that year, Verardi called then-Ph.D.-student Brittany Jasperse (CAHNR ‘19) into his office and told her he wanted to apply their newly developed vaccine platform and start developing a vaccine for Zika virus. It’s an impressive achievement and there’s a full article attached for those looking to know more. Verardi emphasizes that developing vaccines for viruses, in this case Zika, help the world be better prepared for outbreaks of novel and emerging viruses by having vaccine development frameworks in place. “Emerging viruses are not going to stop popping up any time soon, so we need to be prepared,” Verardi says. “Part of being prepared is to continue the development of these platforms.” If you’re a journalist looking to know more about Zika virus and this emerging news about a vaccine – then let us help. Dr. Paulo Verardi is a virologist who specializes in vaccine research and development. He is an Associate Professor at UConn and a member of the Center of Excellence for Vaccine Research. Dr. Verardi is available to speak with media regarding this emerging development – simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

Paulo Verardi, Ph.D.
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Biography

Dr. Verardi is a virologist who specializes in vaccine research and development. He is a Department Head and Associate Professor at UConn and a member of the Center of Excellence for Vaccine Research. Dr. Verardi studied Biological Sciences at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil before earning his Ph.D. in Molecular Virology from the University of California, Davis. He has a broad background in molecular biology, virology, and immunology, with an interest in vaccine and immunotherapeutic vector development. He has worked on vaccinia virus immunomodulating genes, cytokines as attenuating and immunoenhancing agents, the development of a vaccinia virus-based vaccine for rinderpest, safer and more efficacious vaccine vectors for smallpox and AIDS, vaccines and design of safer and diagnostics for Rift Valley fever, foot-and-mouth disease, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, and more recently Zika virus, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), and a number of other mosquito- and tick-borne agents.

Areas of Expertise

COVID-19
Mosquito-borne Diseases
Tick-borne Diseases
Zika
Smallpox
Emerging Infectious Diseases
Vaccines
Virology

Education

University of California

Ph.D

Comparative Pathology (Molecular Virology)

1997

Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul

B.S.

Biological Sciences

1989

Social

Media

Paulo Verardi on Sept. 6, 2022. (Sean Flynn/UConn Photo)
Paulo Verardi, associate professor of pathobiology, at the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory on July 21, 2017. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Paulo Verardi, associate professor of pathobiology, at the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory on July 21, 2017. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

Media Appearances

‘Zombie’ viruses are thawing in melting permafrost because of climate change

The Washington Post  print

2023-03-09

“In nature we have a big natural freezer, which is the Siberian permafrost,” said Paulo Verardi, a virologist who is the head of the Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science at the University of Connecticut. “And that can be a little bit concerning,” especially if pathogens are frozen inside animals or people, he said.

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Monkeypox and kids: What to know about the virus spreading, vaccines and more

Hearst Connecticut Media  print

2022-08-16

With school starting soon in Connecticut, Hearst Connecticut Media Group turned to Paulo Verardi, a UConn virologist and specialist in pox viruses, including smallpox and monkeypox, for answers about the risk to children.

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Monkeypox in kids: How prepared is Connecticut?

Hearst Connecticut Media  print

2022-08-09

University of Connecticut virologist Paolo Verardi said younger children are particularly at risk from monkeypox, as well as immunocompromised patients.

“The types of people that are most susceptible are the ones that are very young and they have an underdeveloped immune system,” he said. “So, young children, anybody that’s immunosuppressed, and you may be immunosuppressed because they may be taking a drug for an autoimmune disease.”

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Articles

How worried should you be about coronavirus variants? A virologist explains his concerns

The Conversation

2021-04-08

Spring has sprung, and there is a sense of relief in the air. After one year of lockdowns and social distancing, more than 171 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the U.S. and about 19.4% of the population is fully vaccinated. But there is something else in the air: ominous SARS-CoV-2 variants.

I am a virologist and vaccinologist, which means that I spend my days studying viruses and designing and testing vaccine strategies against viral diseases. In the case of SARS-CoV-2, this work has taken on greater urgency. We humans are in a race to become immune against this cagey virus, whose ability to mutate and adapt seems to be a step ahead of our capacity to gain herd immunity. Because of the variants that are emerging, it could be a race to the wire.

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A PRRSV GP5-Mosaic vaccine: Protection of pigs from challenge and ex vivo detection of IFNγ responses against several genotype 2 strains.

PLos One

Verardi PH, et al.

2019

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), is a highly mutable RNA virus that affects swine worldwide and its control is very challenging due to its formidable heterogeneity in the field. In the present study, DNA vaccines constructed with PRRSV GP5-Mosaic sequences were complexed to cationic liposomes and administered to experimental pigs by intradermal and intramuscular injection, followed by three boosters 14, 28 and 42 days later.

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Antibiotic-dependent expression of early transcription factor subunits leads to stringent control of vaccinia virus replication.

Virus Res.

Hagen CJ, Titong A, Sarnoski EA, Verardi PH.

2014

The use of vaccinia virus (VACV) as the vaccine against variola virus resulted in the eradication of smallpox. VACV has since been used in the development of recombinant vaccine and therapeutic vectors, but complications associated with uncontrolled viral replication have constrained its use as a live viral vector.

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