“How We Build Drugs and Vaccines to Guard Against Viruses”
Speaker:
Professor, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Missouri
Director, Laboratory for Infectious Disease Research
Principal Investigator, Bond Life Sciences Center
Date: Febuary 20, 2025, noon-1 p.m.
Location: Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health Building, Atkins Family Seminar Room
*Zoom option available
Description
At age 9 or 10, Anthony Griffiths already knew he’d become a virologist.
He was consumed by curiosity about the rabies vaccine, a highly effective century-old treatment for the deadliest known viral disease. Today, Dr. Griffiths is the director of the Laboratory for Infectious Disease Research (LIDR) at the University of Missouri, leading a team focused on developing vaccines and therapeutics for emerging pathogens.
In the past he’s studied polio, Ebola, Marburg, and herpes viruses, with special emphasis on illnesses of the nervous system or with high case fatality rates. He says his team’s journey has involved developing “pathogen agnostic” expertise that’s “an inch deep and a mile wide,” because of the fluid nature of the viral ecosystem.
As a result, today they’re focused on SARS-CoV-2, highly pathogenic influenza virus, Eastern equine encephalitis virus, Mpox and others. “In the context of viruses and emerging infectious disease, we don’t really know what we’re going to do one year to the next,” he says. “We try and set ourselves up for whatever the threat is at that particular moment. Our job is to make sure we’re prepared for that.”
One goal is to develop a truly broad-spectrum antiviral drug capable of halting the spread of any virus, even as it mutates. If they’re successful, it would be a game changer for human health.
One such project involves tiny spheres they call “nano-sponges” which are coated with an artificial cell membrane. Viruses have to find their way to the surfaces of cells, so these non-toxic “sponges” capture them before they can do any harm. Another project involves a large collaborative that’s trying to identify antibodies which work against different viruses.
Ƶ the Speaker
Anthony Griffiths, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, investigator in the Bond Life Sciences Center, and director of the Laboratory for Infectious Disease Research (LIDR). He has dedicated his career to working with viruses, which form the basis of his research program.
Dr. Griffiths studied herpes simplex virus as a graduate student at Cambridge University and as a post-doc at Harvard Medical School. He established his own group at Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio, where he broadened his interest to viruses that require high (BSL-3) and maximum (BSL-4) containment. Much of this work focused on Ebola virus but also included other viruses. From there, Dr. Griffiths moved to the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories at Boston University to continue the work in high and maximum containment, adding coronaviruses to the research program.
The group has a goal to understand fundamental virological processes to aid the development of vaccines and therapeutics. The LIDR works with a range of viruses utilizing molecular techniques and animal models for infectious disease research to facilitate this work.
Ƶ the Discovery Series
provides learning opportunities for UM System faculty and staff across disciplines, the statewide community and our other partners to learn about the scope of precision health research and identify potential collaborative opportunities. The series consists of monthly lectures geared toward a broad multidisciplinary audience so all can participate and appreciate the spectrum of precision health efforts.
For questions about this event or any others in the Discovery Series, please reach out to Mackenzie Lynch.
Reviewed 2025-01-28