Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Flinders Medical Science and Technology, School of Medicine, Flinders University, Adelaide 5042, AUSTRALIA

My laboratory is interested in the host cell responses to viral infection that may be linked to regulating viral replication and disease pathogenesis. Our research is currently centered on dengue virus, a mosquito-borne virus of global and increasing significance, where the pathogenesis of severe dengue is associated with the host immune response and effects that increase the permeability of the vascular endothelium. The specific host cell proteins we believe are of interest in dengue virus infection include sphingosine kinase, an enzyme involved in maintaining sphingolipid homeostasis, cell signaling and the cell survival-death decision; and viperin, an interferon stimulated gene with key antimicrobial actions in the innate immune response. We utilize in vitro models of dengue virus infection reflecting a major cell target for infection in vivo (macrophages) and an important target for the pathogenic effects on the vasculature (endothelial cells) and molecular and cell biology approaches to investigate replication and changes in these cells in response to dengue virus infection.