Associate Professor Michael Beard is head of the Hepatitis C Virus Research Laboratory at The University of Adelaide, School of Biological Science. My laboratory studies the host response and viral host interactions to hepatitis C virus and other closely related viruses such as Dengue and West Nile Virus. In particular we are interested in the innate immune response to viral infection and the host antiviral response through the expression of interferon stimulated genes (ISGs). We aim to identify novel antiviral ISGs and characterise their mode of action that will help understand viral replication strategies and host control of viral life cycles. In addition we are also using live real-time virus imaging to track interactions between viral proteins, RNA and host proteins that will inform us of the dynamic nature of viral infection.