Research Projects

The goal of arguably all viruses is to infect and invade cells and to commandeer and modulate the host intracellular environment to facilitate virus replication and survival. To achieve this many viruses control the host translational machinery to ensure a bias towards viral protein production over host, and in doing so also limit the production of antiviral immune genes. Over previous and current research on mouse norovirus (MNV) has revealed that MNV encodes a protein that has the capacity to completely disable host translation. We have mapped the region of the protein that has this functionality and are now mutating specific residues to understand how this protein functions in translation.

To expand our research, we would also like to investigate if the analogous protein encoded by human noroviruses does the same. Therefore, within this project you as a student will use molecular and cellular biology, proteins expression and analysis, combined with tissue culture and virus infections to elucidate the molecular machinery encoded by noroviruses that make it one of the most effective viral infections on the planet.

Contact project supervisor for further
information and application enquiries