Welcome to the Dermody Lab website!

The Dermody laboratory laboratory studies the molecular pathogenesis of mammalian reovirus and Chikungunya virus infections. Reovirus is an enteric, neurotropic virus that infects many mammalian species, including humans, but disease is restricted to the very young.  Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an emerging arthropod-borne alphavirus that causes epidemics of febrile arthritis in humans.  Research in our laboratory encompasses several interrelated themes to better understand viral and cellular mediators of disease.  These include the structural basis of viral attachment and entry into cells, mechanisms of genome replication and packaging, patterns of cell signaling and gene expression occurring in response to viral infection, mechanisms of virus-induced apoptosis and its significance in the viral life cycle, and roles of viral receptor distribution and utilization in disease pathology.  We also are developing viral vectors for oncolytic and vaccine applications.