Since its establishment in 1990 my laboratory has studied the pathogenesis and biology of herpes simplex virus (HSV) with an emphasis on studying the interface of the virus and the host. The generation and use of recombinant viruses in a variety of models of infection followed by analysis with functional genomics and cytokine arrays has allowed us to determine the roles of viral and host factors in the outcome of infection. We have developed a number of reagents, techniques, and approaches. These include BACs to rapidly generate recombinant viruses, non-invasive bioluminescence technology to monitor spread and tropism of HSV in real time, and recombinant viruses that are effective as therapeutic vaccines for prevention of recurrent HSV infections (US Patent #5698431). We have also discovered roles for a number of viral genes in the evasion of innate and adaptive immunity, and of autophagy responses, and elucidated roles for host resistance pathways in the control of acute infection.