Microbiology themes
Host-Pathogen Interactions
Pathogenic bacteria, viruses and fungi are in a constant co-evolutionary arms race with their hosts.
Using a variety of state of the art techniques ranging from structural biology, EM, live cell imaging and proteomics, through to studies in human tissue models and in vivo research, teams within SMCB are focused on gaining further molecular and cellular insights into these complex interactions between pathogens and their hosts. Research includes investigating the modulation of host cells by tumourgenic viruses (eg Kaposi’s sarcoma herpesvirus, adenoviruses and human papillomaviruses), understanding the pathogenesis and persistence of chronic viral infection such as hepatitis C, dissecting the activation of host inflammatory responses by fungal and bacterial pathogens, and investigating the mechanisms of infectious respiratory diseases to inform vaccine design. Together, our research is providing a greater mechanistic understanding of host-pathogen interactions, shedding light on multiple fundamental physiological processes, and thereby guiding the development of future therapeutic strategies.
View a list of academics in Host-Pathogen Interactions
View a list of postdoctoral researchers in Host-Pathogen Interactions
View a list of PhD students in Host-Pathogen Interactions
| Key Researchers | |
| Dr John Barr Lecturer |
Identifying and characterising critical interactions between negative strand RNA viruses and host cell factors |
| Professor Richard Bayliss Professor |
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| Professor Eric Blair Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology |
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| Dr Thomas Edwards Associate Professor |
Protein-protein interactions; Structural approaches to understanding interactions between proteins from pathogenic bacteria or RNA viruses and host cell complexes |
| Dr Juan Fontana University Academic Fellow |
Host factors involved in viral entry; Influenza virus, Bunyaviruses |
| Professor Mark Harris Professor of Virology |
Hepatitis C virus and Chikungunya virus: mechanisms of replication and virus-host interactions |
| Dr Andrew Macdonald Associate Professor |
Virus host interactions with small DNA tumour viruses |
| Professor Neil Ranson Professor of Structural Molecular Biology |
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| Professor Nicola Stonehouse Professor of Molecular Virology |
Picornaviruses replication and assembly; VLP vaccine development; use of RNA aptamers as molecular tools |
| Dr Martin Stacey Lecturer |
Understanding pathogen and host-induced inflammatory responses |
| Dr Andrew Tuplin Lecturer |
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| Professor Adrian Whitehouse Professor of Molecular Virology |
Identification of essential virus-host cell interactions required for oncogenic virus replication and transformation |