Viral Hepatitis Pathogenesis Group

Viral hepatitis – hepatitis B and C – affects more than 500 million people globally and is a leading cause of liver cancer and liver failure. Our basic laboratory research is informed by clinical practice at Blacktown and Westmead Hospitals, giving us ready access to a patient cohort, the ability to run hospital clinical trials, and providing a vehicle for rapid translation of our research.

Research Directions

  • Find a cure for Hepatitis B
  • Improve treatment outcomes and quality of life for people living with Hepatitis B
  • Understand the mechanisms of HBV infection persistence and HBV DNA integration.
  • Host-virus evolution in chronic HBV infection and liver disease progression.
  • Pre-cancerous changes in liver cancer to develop novel diagnostics and prognostics.
  • The broader impacts of chronic hepatitis B from the perspective of the affected community
  • Study the impact of hepatitis C virus drug resistance mutations on treatment outcomes
  • Monitor hepatitis C drug resistance in the community to assist hepatitis C elimination

Recent Achievements

  • A/Prof Thomas Tu recognized for his research and community leadership with the Inaugural Paul and Valeria Ainsworth Precision Medicine Fellowship
  • A/Prof Douglas awarded a NHMRC Ideas Grant to develop new ways to identify people with hepatitis B who can safely stop long term treatment (EMPOWER-B study)
  • A/Prof Douglas awarded an international patent for a novel approach to curing hepatitis B by targeting a key host gene, funded by an ongoing NHMRC Ideas Grant.

Recent publications

Mitosis of Hepatitis B virus-infected cells results in uninfected daughter cells. JHEP Rep, 4:100514.

June 2022

De novo synthesis of Hepatitis B virus nucleocapsids is dispensable for the maintenance and transcriptional regulation of cccDNA. JHEP Rep, 3:100195.

February 2021

Impact of an Open Access Nationwide Treatment Model on Hepatitis C Virus Antiviral Drug Resistance. Hepatol Commun, 4:904-915.

June 2020

Polo-like kinase-1 mediates hepatitis C virus-induced cell migration, a drug target for liver cancer. Life Sci Alliance, 6: e202201630.

August 2023

The lived experience of chronic hepatitis B: a more complete view of its impact and why we need a cure. Viruses, 12:515.

May 2020

NAME ROLE
A/Prof Mark Douglas Group Leader
A/Prof Thomas Tu Group Leader
Dr Sarah Bae Postdoctoral Fellow
Ms Delgerbat Boldbaatar PhD student
Mr Henrik Zhang PhD student
Ms Dong Li PhD student
Mr Harout Ajoyan PhD student
Ms Vikki Ho Senior Research Officer
Ms Gabriela Wu Honours student
Ms Mylisa Vu Project manager

https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/about/our-people/academic-staff/mark-douglas.html

Recent Media Mentions

 

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