Lynda A. Morrison, PhD

Email: morrisla@nospam.slu.edu

Saint Louis University (SLU)

My primary research interests concern herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 and HSV-2. We study how virion tegument proteins facilitate HSV infection by countering host innate immune responses. We then use this information to develop antiviral vaccine strategies and antiviral therapies. Three active areas of investigation include the HSV-2 ICP34.5 protein, which controls type I IFN, autophagy, and translation arrest responses to infection; construction and testing of replication-defective, live virus vaccine strains with immune evasion genes deleted; and antiviral drug development.