The Inaugural Lecture of Professor Jo Parish

You are invited to attend the inaugural lecture of Professor Jo Parish, from the Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, entitled: 'Viruses and cancer; warts and all'.

Jo Parish is a Professor of Tumour Virology at the University of Birmingham. Viruses are the cause of over 12% of all human cancers, accounting for 2 million deaths per year worldwide. Jo’s research has focused on a major group of oncogenic viruses; human papillomaviruses (HPV). HPV infections are the cause of 5% of all human cancers including of the uterine cervix and anogenitals, and within the tonsils and base of tongue, collectively known as the oropharynx. Using state-of-the-art primary cell-based models of HPV infection, Jo has dissected molecular mechanisms of HPV persistence, replication and viral gene expression control. More recently she has discovered novel mechanisms driving HPV-induced manipulation of host cell gene expression and determined how these changes are important for HPV persistence and cancer development.

In this lecture, Jo will describe her multidisciplinary approach to understanding the HPV life cycle in disease relevant models of infection and her key mechanistic insights into the regulation of virus and host gene expression. She will present recent discoveries on how the virus manipulates the host genome and epigenome to drive oncogenic changes in infected tissues and discuss how these discoveries impact our understanding and clinical management of HPV-driven cancer.

This lecture will be held in person and online via Zoom, please register above. If you are planning to attend online, you must then register via Zoom using the link provided in your confirmation email. This will then generate the Zoom link for you to add to your diary to join the event.