The focus of the Lawson lab is understanding the pathogenesis of transmissible diseases affecting the central (CNS) and enteric nervous systems (ENS) using a range of methods that encompass cell-free, cell-based and in vivo models of disease.
Under investigation are virological diseases such as COVID-19 and non-conventional infectious diseases including prion (Creutzfeldt Jakob disease) and prion-like diseases (synucleinopathies ie Parkinson’s disease). Of particular interest is the effect of strain variation on invasion, pathogenesis, and inflammation in the CNS and ENS. The aim of our research is to better understand disease pathogenesis to develop methods to treat, diagnose and prevent disease.
