Liu Zhiyong

I was trained as a biochemist and immunologist from Zhejiang University, working on the molecular mechanisms of antiviral innate immunity with mice models. To study antiviral immunity in natura, I joined Casanova Lab of The Rockefeller University as a postdoctoral associate in early 2019. My work mainly focuses on discovering new genetic determinants of childhood herpes simplex virus encephalitis(HSE) and post-HSE autoimmune encephalitis, which are rare and life-threatening neurological diseases, and caused mainly by type I herpes virus(HSV-1) infection. Since the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, I have also been studying previous healthy young patients with life-threatening COVID-19, searching for host genetic variations that may explain their insufficient immunity to SARS-COV-2.