Rate My Professor Ade Whitehouse

Professor Ade Whitehouse is the Professor of Molecular Virology in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology within the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds. He currently holds the position of Pro-Dean for Research and Innovation for the Faculty of Biological Sciences. Whitehouse earned his BSc in Microbiology from the University of Sheffield in 1991 and his D.Phil. in Molecular Virology from the University of Oxford in 1994. After completing his doctorate, he undertook postdoctoral research at the Molecular Medicine Unit, St James’s Hospital in Leeds. In 1998, he was awarded a Medical Research Council Non-clinical Fellowship. He joined the University of Leeds as a Lecturer in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology in 2002, advanced to Reader in 2005, and was appointed Professor of Molecular Virology in 2010.

Whitehouse's research specializes in virology, with a focus on oncogenic viruses including Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and Merkel cell polyomavirus, which contribute to around 15% of human cancers worldwide. His laboratory investigates how these viruses manipulate host cell pathways to facilitate replication and oncogenesis, emphasizing areas such as RNA processing, translational control, epitranscriptomics, and non-coding RNA regulatory networks. Employing omic technologies like transcriptomics and quantitative proteomics, his work identifies key virus-host interactions for the development of antiviral therapies. Ongoing projects explore the pro-viral roles of RNA modifications such as m6A in KSHV replication, virus-induced specialized ribosomes for translation control, and manipulation of host ncRNA networks. He develops novel therapeutic strategies using structural-based rational drug design, virtual high-throughput screening, and virus-based assays to target virus-host interactions. Whitehouse received the Microbiology Society's Fleming Prize in 2005 for his contributions to understanding the latent-lytic switch in gamma-2 herpesviruses. His research has attracted substantial funding from bodies including the Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust, supporting major grants for projects on viral RNA processing and host-virus interactions in KSHV-related malignancies.