My lab is interesting in the replication and assembly of retroviruses, and their interactions with the host cell and hosts. We are currently studying foamy viruses (FV). These comprise a subfamily and have many unique properties that distinguish them from HIV and other retroviruses. The major projects are: (1) to understand how FV package their genomes and enzymes into particles; (2) to examine interactions with host proteins that facilitate particles assembly; (3) to monitor zoonotic infections from primates to humans and the evolution of FV in their natural primate hosts as well as accidentally infected humans.
