Wendy Watford PhD

Wendy Watford is an associate professor of infectious diseases in the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. Courtesy of University of Georgia

Infectious disease researchers at the University of Georgia have identified a signaling protein critical for host defense against influenza infection. The findings, recently published in PLoS Pathogens, shed light on how a single component of the body's defense system promotes effective immunity against viral infections -- particularly respiratory viruses -- that affect mucosal sites.