Tony Minson - Research

Research

Since moving to Cambridge, Minson's research has focused on animal viruses, particularly those of the herpesvirus family, including herpes simplex virus (HSV) and human cytomegalovirus. These large and complex enveloped DNA viruses commonly infect humans, causing a lifelong latent infection. Conditions associated with HSV include cold sores and genital herpes, and both HSV and cytomegalovirus can be life-threatening in people who are immunodeficient. Much of Minson's research has investigated herpesvirus replication and life cycle, and viral pathogenesis and the immune response. His work has contributed to understanding the processes by which HSV fuses with the cell membrane and acquires its envelope. As of 2013, his research focuses on herpesvirus entry, in particular how the viral membrane proteins cooperate to induce fusion, as well as assembly, in particular of the viral membrane proteins.

Minson has also worked in collaboration with Margaret Stanley on another DNA virus, human papillomavirus, which is associated with cervical cancer. His research in the early 1970s was in the field of plant viruses, including tobacco rattle virus and tobacco necrosis virus, in collaboration with Graham Darby and others. Leszek Borysiewicz and Geoffrey L. Smith are among his other research collaborators, and notable students have included Tony Kouzarides.