The Department of Virology and Immunology develops vaccines and therapeutics against viral pathogens, and determines how viruses replicate and spread through basic and applied research.
To defeat viruses that cause AIDS, hepatitis, herpes, hemorrhagic fevers, and a host of other illnesses, scientists in the Department of Virology and Immunology try to attack viruses on two different fronts. First, they examine how viruses replicate and propagate so as to identify their Achilles’ heel. Second, they study how the immune system recognizes a virus and how best to stimulate immune response to clear viral infections. With this knowledge, scientists hope to develop new drug therapies to treat viral infections, as well as vaccines to prevent those infections in the first place.
Giving SFBR virologists advantages in their life-saving quest are two of the Foundation’s unique resources. The department’s state-of-the-art facilities include the nation’s only privately owned biosafety level four (BSL-4) maximum containment laboratory. This facility – which has proven especially beneficial in support of the nation’s biodefense efforts – allows Foundation scientists to safely study lethal pathogens for which there currently is no known treatment or cure.
Also extremely valuable are the nonhuman primates housed at the Foundation. These animals offer the most effective models for human infectious disease, as well as for the evaluation of therapeutic drugs and vaccines against viral agents.
Dr Jean Patterson continues to study the pathogenesis of Leishmaniavirus, which is associated with lesions of the skin (cutaneous form) and the mucous membranes of the mouth (mucocutaneous form).
Despite progress made in the fight against AIDS, the World Health Organization still estimates that this devastating disease will take the lives of nearly 68 million people over the next 20 years.
Intrahepatic Gene Expression During HCV Infection in Chimpanzees
Supplemental Data.
Archer, A.M. and Rico-Hesse, R. High genetic divergence and recombination in arenaviruses from the Americas. Virology. 304:274-281, 2002. PMID 12504568
The chimpanzee is the only animal other than man that is susceptible to HCV infection.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections represent a major worldwide health problem due to the predilection of this virus to cause lifelong chronic infections; 10% of infected adults and 95% of infected newborns become chronic carriers.
This research program is a component of one of the four national Hepatitis C Cooperative Centers, The Southeastern Hepatitis C Cooperative Center, which also includes components at University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and John Hopkins School of Medicine.
The prevalence of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is estimated at 3 percent worldwide and at more than 2 percent in the United States.
The AIDS epidemic has spread to over 40 million people worldwide during the last 20 years, yet we are still learning how HIV causes AIDS in humans.
A retrovirus known to cause leukemias and cancers in humans is also found naturally in African primates and is distributed widely in baboons.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections represent a major worldwide health problem due to the predilection of this virus to cause lifelong chronic infections; 10% of infected adults and 95% of infected newborns become chronic carriers.
Recent attempts by transplant surgeons to treat patients with end-stage disease with nonhuman organs and cells (xenotransplantation) have spurred on new clinical trials to overcome organ rejection.
A special advantage in their life-saving quest of the Department of Virology and Immunology’s state-of-the-art facilities include the nation’s only privately owned biosafety level four (BSL-4) maximum containment laboratory.
