Morbillivirus-Host Interaction (MHI) Group

My research group concentrates mainly on the interaction of the virus with the host, the host responses to infection, and how this relates to host-specificity and the disease process. We are mostly studying rinderpest virus (RPV), a morbillivirus that causes a fatal disease in cattle and buffalo. The morbilliviruses are an important group of viruses, including viruses that infect man (measles virus), dogs and many wild carnivores (canine distemper virus), and sheep and goats (peste des petits ruminants virus).

Current research projects include comparison of the host response to pathogenic and non-pathogenic viruses using bovine microarrays, identification of viral proteins that block specific host defence mechanisms (the interferon response and apoptosis), and analysis of the roles specific viral and host proteins have in viral genome and mRNA synthesis.