Research Bio
Britt Glaunsinger is a molecular virologist whose research investigates how virus–host interactions influence gene expression during infection. She is best known for her work on herpesviruses, revealing how viral proteins manipulate cellular RNA synthesis and fate. Glaunsinger’s lab integrates molecular biology, genomics, and cell biology to study how viruses co-opt host machinery and how cells respond to pathogenic stress.
She is Professor of Plant and Microbial Biology and Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley, and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She holds the Class of 1963 Endowed Chair for excellence in undergraduate teaching.
Research Expertise and Interest
virology, gene expression, herpesvirus
In the News
Microbiologist Explains the Wonder of Viruses in 101 Seconds
Of virulent viruses and reservoir hosts
Glaunsinger, Martin named Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators
Andreas Martin, an associate professor of molecular and cell biology, and Britt Glaunsinger, an associate professor of plant and microbial biology, are the campus’s newest Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators.
Researcher tweaks cells with mRNA, in quest to improve antivirals
Berkeley biochemist Britt Glaunsinger studies the cell-takeover tactics of herpes viruses. "Antivirals only work on viruses that are replicating," she says. Discovering ways "to lure latent viruses out of hiding, en masse," is critical to curing herpes, shingles, or HIV.