Athena Swan Gold Award

Section of Virology

Our research focuses on the relationship between the virus and the host cell, using a number of DNA viruses (including herpesviruses, poxviruses), and RNA viruses (including coronaviruses, paramyxoviruses, bunyaviruses, flaviviruses).

Research interests

  • Cellular responses to virus infection – cell defence and virus counter-mechanisms involved in the interplay between virus and cell.
  • Virus morphogenesis – the interactions and cellular transport pathways involved in virus assembly and egress.
  • Regulation of RNA metabolism - how viruses hijack the cellular mRNA regulatory machinery (RNA modification, decay, translation) to enable large-scale virus production.
  • Systems virology - using powerful 'omics approaches to understand virus:cell interactions, focusing on tick-borne viruses
  • Utilising cutting-edge 3D cell culture to understand the role of respiratory virus infection and innate immune responses in the development and progression of chronic lung disease

We are expert in classical virology, molecular biology and cellular biology approaches, and techniques ranging from single cell imaging to proteomics, transcriptomics and translatomics to help us build a greater understanding of how viruses successfully replicate in their host cells.

Meet the team

Section lead

Gill Elliott profile image

Professor Gill Elliott

Professor of Virology

Section members

Lindsay Broadbent profile image

Dr Lindsay Broadbent

Lecturer in Virology

Nicolas Locker profile image

Professor Nicolas Locker

Professor of Virology

Carlos Maluquer de Motes profile image

Dr Carlos Maluquer de Motes

Reader in Molecular Virology

Marine J. Petit profile image

Dr Marine Petit

Lecturer in Virology

Research staff

Rebecca Sumner profile image

Dr Rebecca Sumner

Senior Research Fellow

Alistair Tweedie profile image

Dr Alistair Tweedie

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in RNA Biology

Michihito Wakai profile image

Dr Michihito Wakai

Research Fellow

Postgraduate research students

Hannah Ashby

Postgraduate Research Student

Sophie Cutts

Postgraduate Research Student

Ikshitaa Dinesh profile image

Ikshitaa Dinesh

Postgraduate Research Student

Justin Duruanyanwu profile image

Justin Duruanyanwu

Postgraduate Researcher

Ailish Ellis profile image

Ailish Ellis

Postgraduate research student

Monica Hill profile image

Monica Hill

Postgraduate Research Student

Tom Moore profile image

Tom Moore

Postgraduate Research Student

Natasha Preston profile image

Natasha Preston

Postgraduate Research Student

Telma Sancheira Freitas

Postgraduate Research Student

Rees Sorby profile image

Rees Sorby

Postgraduate Research Student

Isobel Stokes profile image

Isobel Stokes

Postgraduate Research Student

Adriana Tubb profile image

Adriana Gladys Tubb

Postgraduate Research Student

Ashleigh Tungate profile image

Ashleigh Tungate

Postgraduate Research Student

Technical staff

Angela Boxall

Laboratory Manager