Centre for Virus Research | The Westmead Institute for Medical Research

The Centre for Virus Research uses the latest technologies such as genomics, molecular and cell biology and protein chemistry to study viruses.

Our research understands the biology of viruses – how they invade host cells and often remain dormant, then reactivate. Our aim is to find new drug targets and ways of preventing infection, including vaccines. Better understanding of viruses will also lead to ways of exploiting them to combat disease.

Diseases we research

HIV
Herpes
Chickenpox and shingles
Cytomegalovirus (CMV)

Our research themes include:

Our research includes retroviral genetics, HIV molecular pathogenesis, HIV biology, viral transport and assembly, neuro- and immunopathogenesis, cytomegalovirus, and varicella zoster virus (the cause of chickenpox and shingles)

We have assisted in the development of the first partially successful vaccine for genital herpes and defined two new HIV receptors on epithelial dendritic cells that are potential drug targets.

Research Teams

HIV and Mucosal Immunity Group

There is still no vaccine or cure for HIV/AIDS and the only available treatment involves taking multiple drugs for the duration of the patient’s life. Therefore there is a critical need to develop strategies to block transmission of this virus, which occurs via sexual intercourse in by far the majority of cases.

Herpes Neuropathogenesis Group

We study how the virus invades and replicates in nerve cells. We have developed techniques to visualise the virus in nerve cells using fluorescence imaging and electron microscopy. This is helping us to understand how the virus enters and travels along nerve cells and then exits the tip of the nerve to invade skin cells.

Molecular Viral Transport and Assembly Group

We research the basic biology of viruses, aiming not only to develop new antiviral drugs, but to exploit the properties of viruses to engineer new ways of delivering drugs to specific targets, such as cancer cells.

The HIV Reservoir Group

Eradication of the virus is now a tangible possibility in the fight against the HIV epidemic, offering hope to millions of patients for whom combined anti-retroviral therapy remains costly, challenging and carries significant side effects.

Herpes Immunology Group

Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) causes genital herpes and debilitating conditions in the immune suppressed There is currently no licensed vaccine, although a single protein/adjuvant vaccine was partially successfully in women and its modified successor, Recombinant Zoster Vaccine, was 90% efficacious.

Vaccines and Adjuvants Group

Understanding the mechanisms of action of vaccines and adjuvants (immune stimulants) in humans is essential for ongoing development, however, this is often studied in animal models and poorly characterised in humans.