Rawle Daniel J

My scientific vision is to unravel mechanisms of virus replication and immunopathology, and work with collaborators and industry to advance interventions towards the clinic and market. I have worked in physical containment 3 (PC3) laboratories full time for 8 years with SARS-CoV-2, chikungunya virus, HIV, West Nile virus, and Japanese Encephalitis virus. In addition, I have worked with several PC2 viruses including Zika, Ross River, Getah, Mayaro, O'nyong'nyong and Dengue viruses. I am lead Research Officer in the Inflammation Biology laboratory at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, and oversee a team of postdocs, research assistants and students that work cohesively on a range of virology projects. My research focusses on establishing mouse models of emerging viral diseases (such as SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 and Japanese Encephalitis virus) and exploiting these to investigate mechanisms of virus replication and immunopathology, and evaluate interventions (vaccines, antivirals and therapeutics). My research also employs in vitro systems to investigate mechanisms of virus replication (such as whole genome CRISPR/CAS9 screening), and human brain organoid systems to investigate mechanisms of virus neurotropism. As a specialist in PC3 virology, I also provide PC3 access and enabling technologies to academics and industry via collaborations.