Ralph A. Tripp PhD

Dr. Ralph Tripp is a Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases in the College of Veterinary Medicine and is a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. Dr. Tripp was trained in the field of viral immunity with Laureate Professor Peter C. Doherty at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and, prior to joining UGA in 2004, led a research team in respiratory virus immunology studies at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA. His primary research interest is to develop translational disease intervention strategies for emerging respiratory viruses.
Dr. Tripp’s laboratory investigates the mechanisms of immunity and disease pathogenesis associated with respiratory virus infection to better understand the conceptual and functional differences between innate and adaptive immune responses that provide the foundation necessary to facilitate vaccine and antiviral therapeutic protocols. They also investigate the host cell and viral regulatory pathways involving small RNAs, such as microRNAs. Dr. Tripp holds adjunct Professorships in the Centre for Molecular Sciences at University Canberra, AUS, the School of Infection & Host Defense at the University of Liverpool, UK, and in the Centre for Molecular & Medical Research at Deakin University, AUS.