Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is one of the most widespread human viruses,
infecting over 90% of humans worldwide and persisting for the lifetime of
the person. Most people infected with EB are asymptomatic, but the virus
has been associated with many diseases and cancers including infectious
mononucleosis (IM), Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL), and nasopharyngeal carcinoma
(NPC). My current research focuses on the following questions:
1) How is the persistent infection regulated within an infected host?
2) What factors affect the probability of getting infectious
mononucleosis?
3) How might EBV infection lead to cancer, specifically NPC?