Dominique Schols
Papers
1
Total Citations
13
H-Index
1
About
Dominique Schols is a leading virologist whose research focuses on HIV entry mechanisms and the development of novel antiviral strategies. Her key contributions center on the chemokine receptors CXCR4 and CCR5—the critical coreceptors that HIV uses to infect human cells. Schols pioneered high-throughput screening methods to identify entry inhibitors that block these coreceptors, most notably developing a cell-based ELISA assay that enables rapid, efficient testing of CXCR4-targeting compounds. This work has been instrumental in advancing the discovery of HIV entry inhibitors, a class of drugs that prevent the virus from fusing with host cells. Her highly cited 2003 paper on this assay, with 13 citations, laid the groundwork for subsequent studies on coreceptor antagonists. Beyond methodology, Schols has characterized the antiviral activity and resistance profiles of numerous entry inhibitors, contributing to the preclinical development of maraviroc and other CCR5 antagonists. Her research has profound implications for HIV treatment and prevention, demonstrating how targeting viral entry can circumvent drug resistance. A professor at KU Leuven, Schols continues to explore virus–host interactions, making her a pivotal figure in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
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Top Papers
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