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Microbiology & Immunology Adjunct Faculty
Research | More on Robert E. Lanford
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Robert E. Lanford, Ph.D.
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Research
The primary focus of the laboratory is the replication, morphogenesis and pathogenesis of human hepatitis viruses. Our research program currently focuses on four projects involving hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). HBV infections represent a major worldwide health problem due to the predilection of this virus to cause lifelong chronic infections resulting in cirrhosis and liver cancer. The HBV program involves a project on the molecular mechanism of replication and a project using the newly discovered woolly monkey hepatitis B virus to examine the viral determinants of host range and the cellular receptor for HBV. HCV infections also represent a serious global health problem with an estimated at 2-3 percent of the population being persistently infected. Our HCV program involves molecular studies on the replication of subgenomic RNA replicons and the use of the chimpanzee model in studies on pathogenesis, virus-host interactions and the mechanism of viral clearance. DNA microarray technology is being used to examine the transcriptional changes occurring in the liver during HCV infection to provide insight into the factors leading to the development of chronic infection or to clearance of viremia. In addition to studies on HCV, we have a program using the GBV-B virus, a tamarin virus closely related to HCV, as a surrogate model for HCV.
Click on the following link for additional information on Dr. Lanford:
http://www.sfbr.org/Departments/virology_immunology_staff_bio.aspx?u=20
Lab Members
M & I Graduate Student in Dr. Lanford's Lab:
