David Johnson

Coming Soon!

Daniel Depledge

My career revolves around the twin pillars of molecular and computational biology. By combining these diverse disciplines, I have gained unique insights into multiple aspects of host-pathogen interactions. I completed my early studies (BSc in Biological Sciences and MSc in Bioinformatics) at the University of Exeter (UK) before obtaining a PhD in molecular parasitology at the University of York (UK). For my post-doctoral studies, I switched to herpesviruses under the mentorship of Prof. Judy Breuer at UCL (UK). In 2014, I won a three-year MRF New Investigator Award which enabled me to investigate the molecular mechanisms that allow varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and herpes simplex viruses (HSV) to establish, persist in, and reactivate from, latency in sensory ganglia. In 2017, I joined the lab of Prof. Ian Mohr at the NYU School of Medicine (USA) to further my interests in herpesviral latency and how host-virus interactions influence transcription. This included pioneering the use of direct RNA nanopore sequencing (DRS) to profile herpesvirus transcriptomes at high-resolution and to characterize HSV-1 latency in neurons at the single cell level. In 2019, I was promoted to Research Assistant Professor at NYU. Here, my research focused on developing and integrating computational biology approaches with DRS and developing new algorithms for detecting and mapping RNA modifications such as m6A. In 2021, I joined the Hannover Medical School (Germany) as an Associate Professor. Research in my lab focuses on understanding the roles of RNA modifications in shaping virus-host interactions and characterization of the VZV latency transcript.

Richard Whitley

Dr. Richard Whitley is a Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, Vice Chairman for Research in the Department of Pediatrics and Co-Division Director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. He also holds the titles of Loeb Eminent Scholar Chair in Pediatrics; Professor of Microbiology, Medicine, & Neurosurgery; Senior Scientist, Department of Gene Therapy; Co-Founder, Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance, and Associate Director, Drug Discovery and Development, Comprehensive Cancer Center. An expert on how antiviral therapies fight infections in children and adults, Dr. Whitley’s research spans four decades, during which he has published 401 scholarly articles on pediatric infectious disease. In 2019, Dr. Whitley was appointed by Dr. Anthony Fauci to chair the NIH-NIAID COVID-19 Data Safety and Monitoring Board. Today, he continues to serve as a member of the Steering Committee for the NIH Long COVID-RECOVER initiative. After attaining his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine in 1971, Dr. Whitley completed his pediatric internship/residency and fellowship in infectious disease and virology at UAB from 1971 to 1976. Dr. Whitley’s honors are numerous and his professional organization involvement extensive, including NIAID AIDS Task Force membership; NIAID DSMB Clinical Trials Committee (Chairman); Associate Editor, Journal of Infectious Diseases (2005-Present); President, International Society for Antiviral Research (1988-1990); AAP Award for Excellence in Pediatric Research (1991); Elion Award, International Society for Antiviral Research (2004); Chair, BSC, CCID, CDC (2005-2010), UAB President’s Medal (2007), NIH National Adv Allergy and Infectious Disease Council (2008-2012), and President, Infectious Diseases Society of America (2009). In 2013, he was named as the inaugural recipient of the Distinguished Clinical Research Scholar and Educator in Residence at the NIH Clinical Center. He has received numerous other awards and lectureships, including the 2016 UAB SOM Dean’s Excellence Award in Research for Senior Faculty, the Department of Pediatrics Lifetime Achievement Award in Pediatric Healthcare in 2016, and Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, Irish Academy of Medicine in 2018. Dr. Whitley received the Alexander Fleming Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Infectious Diseases Society at their annual meeting in 2018. He received the 2020 National Foundation for Infectious Diseases John P. Utz Leadership Award for his work in the field of clinical virology in December 2020, and in 2022, he received the John Howland Award from the American Pediatric Society.