John Aitchison, PhD

The Aitchison lab focuses on the development and application of systems biology approaches to combat infectious diseases. Most recently, his group established the proof concept that virus infection induces vulnerabilities in infected cells that can be selectively targeted by drugs to kill virally infected cells and curtail viral replication. The Keck Foundation, which supports “projects that are distinctive and novel in their approach, question the prevailing paradigm, or have the potential to break open new territory in their field” awarded the Aitchison lab, in collaboration with Dr. Shuyi Ma, a research grant to expand on their initial findings, and develop the strategy for broad utility in host-based antiviral therapeutics.