Viral Tropism Lab

Common denominators of our research include the focus on the interface of human-animal health, the immunogenetics of zoonotic infectious agents and the use of next generation sequencing technologies to answer scientific questions. Our research has been centred on 3 overlapping themes: a) the molecular basis of pathogenesis, b) the host range restrictions, and c) the immunomodulatory abilities of viruses such as influenza virus and avipoxviruses. More recently, our research focused on identifying viral and host determinants that regulate the tropism of bat influenza H17N10 virus, determining the mechanisms that Zika virus use to subvert the host immune system and understanding how the magnitude of immune activation impacts the course of Hepatitis B virus infection. Since the COVID-19 outbreak took hold and upon joining the University of Essex, we have diverted our focus on tackling SARS-CoV-2 and common human coronaviruses.