My laboratory studies the immune response to viruses. While the immune system is effective in defending us against a majority of pathogens, infectious viruses bypass these defenses to establish infection. We look at the mechanisms of viral recognition that activate the innate immune system and the ways viruses block their recognition by these pathways. We have found proteins from viruses such as HIV and KSHV that can effectively block induction of Type I Interferon, the key anti-viral cytokine of the innate immune system. Development of strategies to block these viral proteins will allow effective innate immune responses against these viruses
