Dr Natalee Newton is a virologist that focuses on using cryo-electron microscopy to provide insights into flavivirus structure, with implications for viral evolution, rational vaccine design and therapeutic antibody development. This research is facilitated by using a chimeric flavivirus platform to explore highly pathogenic tick- and mosquito-borne flaviviruses, such as dengue, West Nile and tick-borne encephalitis virus, at the molecular level.
Their research is positioned to reveal the structural details of flavivirus evolution in the context of the infectious virion superstructure and translate these findings into new vaccines and strategies to overcome current epidemics and counter emerging flaviviral threats.