ÒÁÈËÖ±²¥

D. Lorne Tyrrell is a Distinguished University Professor at the ÒÁÈËÖ±²¥. He is the Founding Director of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology. Beginning in 1986, he has focused his research on viral hepatitis. His work on the development of antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B was supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Glaxo Canada. It resulted in the licensing of the first oral antiviral agent to treat chronic hepatitis B infection - lamivudine - in 1998. Today, lamivudine is licensed in over 200 countries worldwide for the treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV). He was also a cofounder, along with Drs. Norman Kneteman and David Mercer, of a biotech company - KMT Hepatech Inc. based on the first non-primate animal model for hepatitis C virus (HCV). Research in the Tyrrell lab is focused on developing model systems and therapeutics for the hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses. Currently, his research looks into virus/host immune evasion mechanisms in a number of viruses. With the onset of the pandemic, the Tyrrell lab pivoted to projects focusing on detecting SARS-CoV-2 and the development of antiviral drugs and vaccines that targeting the virus. His research continues to investigate mechanisms that enable disease variants to become prevalent among the general population.