Dr Morgan Herod

Research in Dr Herod’s laboratory focuses studying positive-sense RNA viruses (particularly enteric viruses such as norovirus), to fundamentally understand how these pathogens replicate to cause disease. These families of positive-strand RNA viruses are typified by a relative small genome size. To compensate for this limitation, these viruses have evolved strategies to maximise their ‘genetic economy’ and multiply the number of functions achieved from a small set of proteins. The laboratory uses a broad range of techniques covering cell, molecular and structural biology to understand how viruses use these strategies to control entry into cells, genome replication and virus assembly. The ultimate aim is to use this understanding to develop new approaches to disease control.