Professor Roger Hewson is the Scientific Leader for Viral Haemorrhagic fevers & Arboviruses at Public Health England – Porton Down and Head of the institutes WHO Collaborating Centre for Virus Research & Reference. He received his B.Sc. in Biological Science - Biochemistry from Exeter in 1987 and PhD in Membrane Protein Biochemistry from Oxford in 1993. Following postdoctoral work in molecular virology at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden and the department of Molecular Pathology at the University of Wisconsin, he joined the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research to work on a range of zoonotic and arthropod borne viruses in 2000. Much of this activity was adopted by the Health Protection Agency in 2003 and subsequently the PHE in 2013.
Current affiliation
- Honorary Professorship - Faculty Infectious & Tropical Diseases, Depts. Immunology & Infection / Pathogen Microbiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
- Visiting Professor Dept. Emerging Infectious Disease & Tropical Med. Nagasaki University
- International Professor of VHFs, Tajik Research Centre of Infectious Disease, MoH, Dushanbe
His research group is focused on public health aspects of virology, pathogenesis and new and emerging disease. It includes an in vivo and in vitro capability with highly pathogenic viruses at high containment and a surveillance programme on emerging disease with key collaborations in the Americas, Africa, Central and East Asia, the Middle East and the Caucuses.
Current areas of interest include molecular epidemiology of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever viruses, studies on host interactions, disease pathogenesis and the development of the immunological signature in diseased and convalescent patients. Collaborative programmes, including capacity building, have developed with partners in endemic countries such as Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia Kazakhstan, Kosova, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkey. His group’s remit covers basic diagnostics, genomics and virus isolation capacity for a wide range of viruses including from the families Arenaviridae, Filoviridae, Hantaviridae, Nairoviridae and those in the genera; Alphavirus, Flavivirus, Henipavirus, Orthobunyavirus, Orthopoxvirus and Phlebovirus in the context of public health. His group also works on applied translational research involving therapeutics and vaccine interventions for highly pathogenic viruses.