CRISPR-based genetic screens are powerful tools for identifying host factors required for viral infection, but many current approaches are biased toward the early stages of infection because they rely on cell survival as a readout. Nell Saunders’s postdoctoral project aims to overcome this limitation by developing alternative CRISPR screening strategies that capture host factors acting at later stages of viral replication. “We know a lot about how viruses get into cells, but much less about the host processes they exploit once replication is underway”, explains Nell. “By moving beyond survival-based screens, we hope to reveal entirely new layers of virus–host interactions that could open up fresh avenues for antiviral strategies.” Nell brings a strong interdisciplinary background to the project: she earned an engineering diploma from École Polytechnique in France, completed a master’s degree in Life Science Engineering at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, and carried out her PhD at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, where she studied coronavirus entry and identified the receptor for the seasonal coronavirus HKU1.