Virology research at the University of Cambridge is directed towards an understanding of the fundamentals of virus infection; replication, pathogenesis and the host response with the aims of extending our knowledge in these areas to facilitate the development of novel therapies and vaccines.
These research programmes are concentrated principally in the Departments of Medicine and Pathology, the Veterinary School, and the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research. There are well-established links between researchers in these individual departments, as well as with other relevant researchers in Departments such as Biochemistry, Plant Sciences, and Zoology (where the Antigenic Cartography Group provides support the WHO influenza vaccine strain selection process). Research into pathogen genomics is conducted through links with the Sanger Institute.
Our key strengths at Cambridge include
- virus pathogenesis and immune evasion
- basic molecular virology
- immunity to infection
- disease dynamics/mathematical modelling
Research in these areas is applied to specific viral pathogens, resulting in major internationally competitive research programmes into viruses such as herpes viruses, influenza, HIV, rotaviruses and papillomaviruses.
