Dr. Bukreyev is a professor in the Departments of Pathology and Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Texas, USA. His research focused on molecular and immunological studies of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which like Ebola and Marburg filoviruses is a non-segmented negative strand virus. At Laboratory of Infectious Diseases at NIAID, NIH, Dr. Bukreyev worked on the development of vectored vaccines against emerging and respiratory viruses, including RSV, human parainfluenza virus type 3 (HPIV3), SARS coronavirus, the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus, and most extensively, Ebola virus. Currently Dr. Bukreyev´s group at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston focuses on the following directions:

1) Characterization of antibody responses to filovirus infections in humans, in collaboration with Dr. James Crowe, Jr.,
2) Development of therapeutic human monoclonal antibody treatments for filoviruses,
3) Development of mucosal respiratory tract vaccines against filoviruses based on human and non-human paramyxovirus vectors,
4) Investigation of mechanisms of “immune paralysis” caused by filoviruses,
5) Development of therapeutics targeting filoviral replication and interferon-antagonist functions (in collaboration with Dr. Sergei Nekhai and Dr. Chris Basler), and
6) Comparative immunology of bats as a reservoir of filoviruses (in collaboration with Dr. Chris Basler).

To get insight into these scientific topics, Dr. Bukreyev´s group is using molecular tools, including reverse genetics (i.e. development of genetically modified filoviruses from the DNA-copies of their genomes and use of mini-genomes), immunological tools such as multi-parameter flow cytometry, human immune cells and animal models. His research includes experiments in BSL-2 and BSL-4 labs in the Galveston National Laboratory. During his career, Dr. Bukreyev has acquired extensive experience in molecular virology of non-segmented negative-strand viruses, including the use or development of reverse genetic systems of five such viruses, including filoviruses. He also acquired extensive experience in viral immunology and in vaccinology, including pre-clinical testing of vaccine candidates in rodents and non-human primates. His studies resulted in 90 publications, including 50 first or senior/co-senior authorship publications, in Science, Cell, Journal of Clinical Investigation, PNAS, PLOS Pathogens, The Lancet, Journal of Virology, Vaccine and other high-quality journals. Dr. Bukreyev is a current member of NIH Vaccines Against Microbial Diseases (VMD) Study Section.