Emerging and re-emerging respiratory diseases caused by zoonotic viruses continue to impose significant burdens on global public health and socio-economic systems. Recurring influenza outbreaks and the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the urgent need to unravel the molecular mechanisms of viral pathogenesis, transmission, and immune evasion to guide infectious disease prevention and evidence-based therapeutic strategies. Our lab is based on structural biology, combining virology, computational modelling, and cutting-edge cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) technologies, to dissect the in-situ assembly, replication, and transmission dynamics of respiratory viruses at the molecular and cellular scales.

Our research focuses on three synergistic themes:

(1) Virus-host interactions. Characterise the molecular and morphological dynamics of respiratory virus transmission, with a focus on the interaction between viral proteins and host cells.
(2) Structure-guided antiviral strategies. Apply high-resolution structural insights into viral antigens and host protein complexes to promote the development of novel antibodies and vaccine candidates.
(3) Method development. Improve in-situ structural biology techniques to enhance the visualisation and analysis of viral structures within infected cells.