We examine how the endogenous virome of the intestine influences exogenous viral infection. All animal genomes have numerous remnants of diverse viral fossils in their genome. These fossils alter host physiology and immunity, fundamentally changing

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We examine how the endogenous virome of the intestine influences exogenous viral infection.

All animal genomes have numerous remnants of diverse viral fossils in their genome. These fossils alter host physiology and immunity, fundamentally changing the outcome of viral infections.

We examine how exogenous viruses evade the antiviral strategies of the intestine to maintain infection competence.

The intestinal barrier is a multicellular tissue that secretes diverse factors to restrict viral infection; however because viruses are able to still infect this tissue, they clearly can evade these defense mechanisms. We use diverse viral evasion proteins discover these mechanisms.

How viral evasion in the intestine of animal reservoirs poises spillover into new hosts.

Many zoonotic viruses exist as enteric viruses in their reservoir hosts while infecting other tissues in humans. We study how viruses evolve in these animal intestinal reservoirs, and how these adaptations might either make a virus more or less likely to be able to infect a human.