Herpesviruses, among the most ubiquitous of human infections, are known for their ability to establish lifelong infections. In order to do so, they have evolved a variety of ways to manipulate the immune system of the host. One major focus of our laboratory is on the impact of innate immune signaling on herpesvirus infection and pathogenesis, mainly the contribution of regulated cell death pathways to host defense. Much of our work focuses on the pathogenesis of human pathogen Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) and Cytomegalovirus (CMV).
The long-term goal of our research is to understand how dysregulation of sensing, signaling, and gene regulation underlie the pathogenesis of infectious, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases in humans. Combining techniques from genetics, molecular and cell biology, virology, and immunology, our laboratory aims to develop a better understanding of these signaling mechanisms, which in turn will improve the detection and treatment of human diseases.
