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Sir
John Skehel
Retired as Director of the NIMR in 2006
Working for the
past 30 years on the influenza virus, Sir John led the team that first deciphered
the molecular detail of how the flu virus latches on to and infects a cell, and
subsequently how the virus evolves to stay one step ahead of the immune system. By
visualising the key viral surface protein, haemagglutinin (HA), which is responsible
for docking with the target cell, Sir John was able to show how the virus fuses
with the cell membrane. He found that flu virus uses a pH-controlled system, which
triggers a large structural change in HA to unveil a special fusion protein that
latches onto the cell. Sir John also demonstrated that this fusion process is
used by viruses such as HIV, a discovery which has helped to develop antiviral
drugs that interfere with this mechanism. Sir John led a team of MRC scientists
in mapping the structure of the HA from the strain of influenza responsible for
the 1918 pandemic, which globally killed more than 20 million people. Researchers
at outbreak surveillance centres around the world hope that knowledge of the structure
will provide valuable clues in determining whether new variants of the virus have
killer potential. | 
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