Our lab studies the Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a member of the herpesvirus family. Even though most people are infected with HCMV, most infections are subclinical. Still, HCMV is the most common congenital (present at birth) infection in the USA and worldwide, infecting about one to three percent of all newborns. As many as 15 percent of these babies develop neurological abnormalities, such as mental retardation, learning disabilities, hearing or vision loss. Congenital HCMV infection is the leading cause of brain damage and hearing loss in children. The virus is also highly virulent in AIDS patients and transplant recipients. For instance, HCMV is currently the number one cause of visual loss in AIDS patients.
To investigate the functions of the HCMV genes, we study the biochemical activities of individual viral genes or we create mutant viruses lacking specific viral genes and examine the nature of their growth defect. To explore the molecular basis of pathogenesis, we utilize DNA arrays to monitor the expression of both viral and cellular genes within infected cells. |
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