Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque

There are eight known human herpes viruses including Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), Human Cytornegalovirus HCMV), Herpes Simplex virus (HSV) I and 2, Human Herpesvirus (HHV) 6, HHV7, and 14HV8 which cause persistent infections and are shed into the oral cavity during immunosuppression causing increased morbidity. These viruses are all marked by their ability to establish permanent, persistent infections where the viral infection may be latent, chronic, or transforming. These viruses manipulate host immune recognition and response to allow for these continuous infections and affect specific cellular pathways to induce cell growth or death. Our laboratory seeks to understand the critical molecular interactions that occur between the virus and the host that govern the development of oral lesions and malignancies.