.     Home Academics   Graduate Program     M.S.     Ph.D.     Faculty       Ali, Nawab       Baltosser, William H       Bayrak, Coskun       Beger, Richard       Benes, Helen       Berleant, Dan       Bowyer, John F       Bruhn, Russel       Bush, John       Chan, Yupo       Chiang, Chia-Chu       Compadre, Cesar       Dagtas, Serhan       Mock, Donald       Nagarajan, Radhakris       Patterson, Tucker       Pidugu, Srikanth B       Pierce, Elizabeth M       Preissl, Hubert T       Ramaswamy, Srinivasa       Reis, Robert J S       Seker, Remzi       Simpson, Pippa       Slikker, William       Soulsby, Sr., Michae       Suva, Larry       Tang, Peiyi       Thompson, Gary A       Tong, Weida       Tudoreanu, M Eduard       Vanbiervliet, Alan G       Wigand, Rolf T       Xu, Xiaowei       Zhang, Jianjun       Zhou, Yi-Hong       Darsey, Jerry A       Elsalloukh, Hassan       Epstein, Joshua       Eswaran, Hari       Fuscoe, James C       Gealt, Michael A       Govindan, Rathinaswa       Gray, Wayne L       He, Qingfang       Iqbal, Kamran       Jennings, Steven F       Jo, Chan-Hee       Kane, Cynthia (Cindy       Kaufmann, Eric R       Kieber-Emmons, Thoma       Light, Kim       Liu, Xian       Lowery, Curtis L       Luba, James       Ma, Xiaodong       Milanova, Mariofanna       Ounpraseuth, Songthi     FAQ     Graduate Forms   Undergraduate minor   Courses   Certificates   Admission Research Events Resources Contacts Jobs Calendar   . Dr. Wayne L. Gray Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology Affiliation UAMS Department of Microbiology & Immunology Specialty Virology Office Email graywaynel AT exchange.uams.edu Website http://www.uams.edu/mbim/gray2.htm Phone 501-686-5187 Fax 501-686-5359 Mail Arkansas Cancer Research Center UAMS 4301 W. Markham St. #623 Little Rock, Arkansas 72205     Core Areas Molecular biology of Herpesviruses Research Areas My laboratory is investigating the molecular biology of varicella zoster virus (VZV) and the pathogenesis of VZV infections. VZV is the cause of two distinct human diseases: varicella (chickenpox) and the herpes zoster (shingles). Varicella, characterized by vesicular skin rash and fever, is one of the most common diseases of childhood. During varicella, the VZV establishes a latent infection of the nerve ganglia of the host. Later in life, especially in the elderly, the virus may reactivate to cause herpes zoster. Although varicella and herpes zoster are usually mild and self-limiting infections, these diseases can be severe and life-threatening in cancer and AIDS patients and in transplant recipients. In addition, many herpes zoster patients suffer from chronic pain associated with postherpetic neuralgia. Our primary goal is to develop an understanding of the molecular basis of VZV pathogenesis, latency and reactivation. By investigating VZV gene regulation and animal models of the disease, we are attempting to understand the role of specific viral genes in acute and latent infections. My laboratory is also working to develop safe and effective vaccines which will protect against VZV infections and will prevent the establishment of VZV latency. We are using recombinant DNA technology to develop live attenuated VZV vaccines and subunit VZV vaccines. By studying the immune response to specific viral antigens, we hope to understand which components of the virus are the most antigenic and would be the best candidates for inclusion into VZV vaccines.   .   . Site map | Privacy policy | Webmaster | AR BRIN Copyright © 2004-2009 Donaghey College of Information Science and Systems Engineering Created and maintained by MidSouth Bioinformatics Center   This page was created on September 23, 2009.