The Center for Hepatitis Research at the University of Texas Medical Branch comprises a productive and interactive group of investigators representing multiple scientific disciplines who conduct an integrated program of investigation related to viral hepatitis. Research activities within the Center span a wide range of basic studies of the fundamental properties of hepatitis viruses and their mechanisms of replication, virus-host interactions with the hepatocyte, host immune responses to hepatitis viruses, and more applied studies related to epidemiology of disease within the community and the discovery and evaluation of novel therapies for hepatitis C. Support for the Center is currently provided by multiple grants and contracts from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including a pivotal Cooperative Hepatitis C Research Center grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, U19-AI40035), most recently competitively renewed in 2005, and a contract, also from NIAID (N01-AI25488) that has sponsored to date the in vitro testing of over 4000 candidate antiviral compounds in cell-based systems assessing HCV replication. Active NIH-supported research activities currently include investigations into: the role of Toll-like receptor signaling in the pathogenesis of hepatitis C; direct imaging of interactions of HCV with the innate immune system in human liver using multi-photon microscopy; molecular mechanisms of infectious virus assembly and the development of improved systems for in vitro replication of HCV; the evolution of viral mutations in response to T cell responses in humans; the role of oxidative stress in chronic hepatitis C; and T cell responses to HCV antigens in transgenic mouse models. The Center maintains active collaborative research efforts with leading hepatitis research groups at the Southwest Medical Foundation for Biomedical Research at San Antonio, the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, and Nationwide Children’s Research Institute in Columbus, OH. The Center is recognized internationally for its work on hepatitis C and has published numerous scientific reports, many in leading journals including Science, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, PLoS Pathogens, the Journal of Virology and others.

Center Administration:

Director: Stanley M. Lemon, M.D.