Dr Morgan Herod

Profile

I studied for a BSc in Microbiology at the University of Nottingham. This was followed by studying at the University of Birmingham for a PhD in Virology. I moved to the University of Southampton to undertake my first and second post-doctoral research positions, developing a specialism in positive-sense RNA virology. In 2013, I moved to the University of Leeds to begin a third post-doctoral research position, where I started to establish an independent research profile.

I was awarded an MRC career development fellowship in 2018 and started as an University Academic Fellow in 2019 at the University of Leeds. My research group uses a broad range of techniques covering molecular biology, imaging and structural biology approaches to study how positive-strand RNA viruses replicate.

Responsibilities

• Microbiology Programme Lead
• MRC CDA Fellow

Research interests

Research is focussed on understanding fundamental process during viral replication. The main research focus being positive-strand RNA viruses, in particular noroviruses and hepatitis E virus, and spans three main research questions:

1. How do viral capsids control entry into the cell?

2. How the viral polyprotein is processed and how this controls synthesis of new viral genomes?

3. Which molecular interactions are required for virion assembly and replication?

The ultimate goal is to use this understanding to develop improved therapeutic approaches and vaccine candidates.

• Live cell imaging capability for research on pathogenic viruses

Qualifications

• PhD Virology
• BSc Microbiology

Professional memberships

• Microbiology Society
• American Society of Microbiology

Projects

<li><a href="//phd.leeds.ac.uk/project/1901-employing-molecular-virology-to-investigate-hepatitis-e-virus-replication">Employing molecular virology to investigate hepatitis E virus replication</a></li>