MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research

Accelerating virus discovery to
prepare for future pandemics 

Our mission

To strengthen global health, biosecurity and pandemic preparedness through world-leading research, innovation, and training. We are a standing national capability for virus discovery, preparedness and response, enabling rapid progression from early detection to actionable innovations to tackle viral threats in the UK and worldwide.

200 staff and students, 800 publications since 2010
Queen's Anniversary Prize winner, £200m research awards since 2010

Our discoveries

Children playing together indoors, reaching up toward floating bubbles.

AAV2 and paediatric hepatitis outbreak response

Two people in lab coats and gloves work together at a laboratory bench, handling equipment and samples.

H5N1 avian flu outbreak response

Two people sit at a desk looking at molecular or structural graphics on a laptop and a large monitor, discussing the visual data.

Using AI to accelerate discovery and stockpile knowledge

Scientists working in an insectary examining mosquitos inside enclosed containers on shelving units.

Wolbachia for controlling dengue virus

Head of a vampire bat can be seen in a gloved hand.

Tackling vampire bat rabies transmission

Two people in lab coats work together at a laboratory bench, examining a tray of samples beside microscopes and other equipment.

Mpox treatment and drug resistance

All impact case studies

Stacks of lab trays filled with bright pink samples sit on an automated platform inside laboratory equipment.

CVR Translational Hub 

Scientist using a multichannel pipette at a lab bench with equipment and samples.

Our research

News

  • 08 Jan

    UofG to co-lead major new project on mosquitoes

    A major new project on mosquitoes, their viruses, and associated disease risks in Northern Ireland will be co-led by a multi-institutional team which includes the University of Glasgow, Queen’s University, Belfast and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.
  • 16 Dec

    Scientists Track Adaptation of H5N1 in Dairy Cattle

    The H5N1 avian influenza virus – commonly known as bird flu – has been causing outbreaks in dairy cows in the United States since March 2024. Now, scientists studying the adaptation of the avian H5N1 viruses to cows, have found that some of the more recent variants are more able to infect cow cells and tissues than some older variants.
  • 02 Dec

    RSV vaccination during pregnancy reduces the risk of infant hospitalisation

    New research shows that infants under three months old, whose mothers received the RSV vaccination during pregnancy, had around 80% reduced risk of hospitalisation due to an RSV infection, compared to infants whose mothers were unvaccinated.
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