Current research interests center on the molecular biology of Vaccinia virus. Vaccinia virus is a 200 to 300 micron DNA virus that replicates in the cytoplasm of infected somatic cells. During the course of infection, the virus may undergo genetic recombinations, express 150-200 of its genes, recruit 10 to 20 host-cell proteins and proceed through a well-defined morphogenetic pathway. Specific viral genes/proteins have been demonstrated to interact with different tissues of the host including the immune B and T cells, but their number and functions have yet to be defined. Consequently, we are attempting to isolate the genes that are responsible for tissue tropisms and for viral immunity: