Human cytomegalovirus latency, reactivation and immune control

Most people carry human cytomegalovirus without ever knowing it, but the virus can turn deadly in newborns and patients with weakened immune systems. This matters because HCMV is the most common infectious cause of birth defects in the UK, and there is no vaccine. The virus hides silently in immune cells for a lifetime, then reawakens when the immune system is compromised—causing pneumonia, organ damage, or developmental problems. Researchers do not yet understand the molecular switch that keeps the virus dormant or what flips it back on. This project aims to identify the precise mechanisms that maintain latency and the signals that trigger reactivation, as well as how a healthy immune system normally keeps the virus in check. If successful, the work could directly inform vaccine design and antiviral therapies for HCMV. Because many persistent viruses—including herpes simplex and Epstein-Barr—use similar latency strategies, insights from this fundamental science may also illuminate broader principles of how the human body controls long-term viral infections. This is primarily curiosity-driven research into a basic biological process, but understanding that process is a necessary step before any practical intervention can be developed.