Dr Stephen Griffin

Title

Senior Translational Research Fellow – Antivirals and Viral Oncology

Email

s.d.c.griffin@leeds.ac.uk

Phone

(+44)113 3438637

Address

Section of Oncology and Clinical Research

Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine

Wellcome Trust Brenner Building

St James’s University Hospital

University of Leeds

LS9 7TF

Research Interests

Virus Ion Channels

Antiviral Development

Enveloped virus assembly

Oncogenic viruses

About

Both my first degree and my PhD were from the University of Cambridge. During my PhD I characterised the major RNA packaging signal for human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) and in so doing, developed a Lentiviral vector system.

I moved to the laboratory of Dave Rowlands & Mark Harris in Leeds as a post-doc in 2001, where I discovered the ion channel function of the hepatitis C virus p7 protein as well as its sensitivity to small molecule inhibitors. In 2007 I obtained an MRC New Investigator award to develop p7 as an antiviral target and study virus assembly as an independent investigator. Now, as a BHRC STRF, I focus on high throughput and rational approaches to the development of antivirals targeting p7 as well as channels from other oncogenic and clinically important viruses. I also have a general interest in enveloped virus particle assembly.

Current research interests include:

• Rational and high throughput antiviral development for HCV p7
• NMR structure of the p7 ion channel complex
• Molecular determinants of HCV p7 channel gating and drug resistance
• The role of p7 and NS2 proteins in the HCV life cycle
• Development of an HCV small animal model for drug validation
• Developing viral ion channels for therapy: influenza A virus (IAV) M2, human papilloma virus (HPV) E5 and respiratory syncitial virus (RSV) SH

Collaboration

Mark Harris (UoL) – HCV assembly

Colin Fishwick and Richard Foster (UoL, BHRC) – antiviral development

Steven Weinmann (University of Kansas, USA) – HCV p7 in mammalian cells

Steven Homans (UoL) – HCV p7 NMR structure

Paul Targett-Adams (Pfizer, UK) & Wendy Barclay (Imperial College) – IAV M2 antivirals

Andrew Macdonald (UoL) – HPV E5 antivirals

John Barr (UoL) – RSV SH antivirals

Nicola Rose (NIBSC, UK) – HCV small animal model