Professor Andrew Lever

Disrupted endothelial cell layer and exposed extracellular matrix proteins promote capture of late outgrowth endothelial progenitor cells.  Stem Cells International 2016; (2016), Article ID 1406304

We work on viruses and viral vectors. We are interested in the molecular and structural biology of how RNA viruses package their genetic material and how they select their own RNA from the cell so specifically. We focus on lentiviruses like HIV, the cause of AIDS. We also use lentiviruses as vectors for gene delivery and collaborate with other Departments working towards genetic treatments for disease.

We have used vectors to gene transduce cardiovascular tissue including heart muscle and endothelium. Recently we have approached the issue of endothelial damage in ischaemia reperfusion injury using native and gene modified endothelial progenitor cells. The long term aim is to prevent or ameliorate chronic organ rejection in transplantation.