Immunological determinants of human cytomegalovirus control

Project Code

MRCIIAR26Ca Stanton

Project Type

Wet lab

Research Theme

Infection, Immunity, Antimicrobial Resistance and Repair

Project Summary Download

Summary

Humans exhibit variable outcomes when infected with identical pathogens for multiple reasons. We have discovered a new mechanism that may underpin this, in which a common virus (Cytomegalovirus) expresses proteins to ‘turn off’ a key part of cellular immunity. However different virus strains are able to do this with differential effectiveness. This PhD will use in vitro analysis and clinical cohorts to understand how these different abilities function, how they alter the capacity of the human immune system to control infection, and whether they can be used to predict disease severity.

Lead Supervisor

Professor Richard Stanton

Lead Supervisor Email

StantonRJ@cardiff.ac.uk

University Affiliation

Cardiff