My main interests revolve around improving viral disease control in production animals, particularly cattle and poultry. My group is characterising the molecular interactions between invading pathogens and the subsequent host responses with the goal of developing new vaccine and diagnostic technologies. A key component of this work includes improving our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underpin and drive viral virulence and evolution. We are using next generation sequencing to sequence the genomes of herpesviruses from a variety of species including, cattle, chickens, marsupials and crocodiles. My group is also investigating the role of viral encoded microRNAs in virulence, replication and disease development. My group was one of the first in the world to apply bacterial artificial chromosome infectious clone technology for the efficient manipulation of herpesvirus genomes. We are continuing to exploit this approach to understand gene function and the development of vaccines.