Ohio State's Center for Retrovirus Research Announces New Leadership
Originally Published
Effective July 1, 2026, Shan-Lu Liu, MD, PhD, distinguished university professor and scholar in the Department of Veterinary Biosciences, will serve as director of Ohio State's Center for Retrovirus Research. He has served as the associate director for the last couple of years. Since joining Ohio State in 2016, Liu has built a world-leading virology research program with relevance for both human and animal health.
Liu's work is widely recognized for revealing how host proteins can restrict viral infection and how viruses adapt to overcome those defenses. He helped establish the antiviral roles of interferon-induced transmembrane (IFITM) proteins, made discoveries involving the TIM family and SERINC proteins, and later identified additional host factors that regulate key steps in the viral life cycle, including entry and release. This work has advanced research on viruses of major public health importance, including HIV, Ebola, Zika and SARS-CoV-2.
Effective July 1, 2026, Amanda R. Panfil, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Veterinary Biosciences, will serve as the center's associate director. Panfil joined the faculty in 2019. Her work utilizes molecular tools, coupled with both in vitro and in vivo models of infection and disease, to understand the cellular and viral players involved in the genetic and epigenetic regulation of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) gene expression and oncogenesis.
The Retrovirus Research Program at The Ohio State University was organized in the early 1970s with funds from the National Institutes of Health Special Cancer Virus Research Program, which was part of the nation's "War Against Cancer."
In 1989, Ohio State's administration officially recognized the Retrovirus Research Program as a university academic center of excellence, designated the Center for Retrovirus Research (CRR), and housed in the College of Veterinary Medicine. The operation of the CRR is governed by a charter approved by the University Board of Regents.
The director's and associate director's responsibilities are to guide the center's overall operations, provide leadership and promote excellence in research and educational endeavors. A scientific board composed of center members and internal and external advisors guides the center leadership team. The mission of the CRR is to facilitate interdisciplinary investigations into problems related to the prevention and treatment of retroviral diseases in humans and animals.
Individual research programs focus on (1) understanding the fundamentals of the molecular biology of retroviruses; (2) retroviral pathogenesis and prevention of infection or disease; (3) using retroviral models of infection to understand basic cell biology; and (4) retroviral vector development and application to gene delivery and disease treatment for retroviruses and other diseases.
The center's members contribute to education through classroom and laboratory instruction, as well as the training and mentorship of graduate, postdoctoral, undergraduate and veterinary summer students.
Ohio State's College of Veterinary Medicine congratulates and thanks Drs. Liu and Panfil for their leadership and service.