Jolly Lab

We aim to understand the cell biology of HIV-1 infection and spread between T cells, focussing on how HIV-1 hijacks the host T cell machinery to most efficiently replicate while evading antiviral defences. Dissecting the molecular details of how these processes work will provide greater insight into HIV-1 pathogenesis and inform future antiviral strategies. We are also working on SARS-CoV-2 virus-host interactions with emphasis on innate immunity.

Our current research focuses on the following main areas:

Dissecting virus-host interactions that support successful HIV replication in T cells and understanding what makes a T cell permissive for HIV-1.
Determining how HIV-1 reprograms T cells during infection and the implications for viral persistence and reservoir formation.

Determining how SARS-CoV-2 VOCs have evolved to better suppress and evade human innate immune sensing and antiviral restriction factors.
Evaluating antiviral therapeutics and inhibitors.

We have teamed up with the Towers’ lab to study SARS-CoV-2 and its interaction with host cells, read more about our research here: