School of Infection & Immunity

Dr Ben Brennan

  • Senior Lecturer (Virology)

telephone: 0141 330 5308
email: Ben.Brennan@glasgow.ac.uk

Room 331, Level 3, Henry Wellcome Building, Garscube, G61 1QH

Import to contacts

ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X

Biography

We are interested in understanding how bunyaviruses are transmitted by vectors to mammals and how the viruses overcome the immune defences of the host and arthropod. To address these questions we use both in vitro and in vivo molecular virology studies in vector and mammalian systems. 

I am a former member of the laboratory of the late Prof Richard M Elliott (Bunyavirus Group), please contact me via email for requests for reagents/viruses regarding older publications.

Research interests

Work in my lab focuses on how tick-borne viruses interact with their arthropod vector to facilitate transmission. In particular we study viruses belonging to the Banyangvirus and Phlebovirus genera of the Phenuiviridae family.

Recent work has involved the development of a reverse genetics system for the newly discovered severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), as well as studies on Oropouche (OROV), Rift Valley fever (RVFV) and Uukuniemi (UUKV) viruses.

 In particular, my research focuses on:

- Examining the interaction of arthropod transmitted viruses with their vector.

- Developing tools and techniques to study the replication of arhtropod-borne viruses in vitro in arhtropod cell lines and in vivo.

- Investigating the roles of the viral proteins during infection of both mammalian and arthropod cells.

- Exploring the molecular determinants of virus tropism.

- Developing attenuated viruses for use as potential live-attenuated vaccines or vector control agents.

 

 

Former Member of the Bunyavirus Group at CVR.

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2011
Number of items: 40.

2026

Omoga, Dorcus C. A., Witt, Curtis, Giesel, Henry, Bowen, James M., Gunter, Krista, Pozuelos, Stephanie, Relich, Ryan F., Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Tilston, Natasha L. and Schultz-Cherry, Stacey (2026) Reverse genetics and comparative pathogenesis of Lone Star virus. Journal of Virology, (doi: 10.1128/jvi.01009-26) (PMID:42695751) (Early Online Publication)

Gunter, .K. B. et al. (2026) Conserved pathogenesis of ancestral and contemporary Oropouche virus strains in a murine pregnancy model. Nature Communications, 17(1), 6542. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-72711-2) (PMID:42115164) (PMCID:PMC13381898)

Fares, M. et al. (2026) SFTSV NSs protein is a tick antiviral RNAi response suppressor. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 123(20), e2524728123. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.2524728123) (PMID:42118833) (PMCID:PMC13187740)

2025

Wilson, A. et al. (2025) Uukuniemi virus infection causes a pervasive remodelling of the RNA-binding proteome in tick cells. PLoS Pathogens, 21(8), e1013393. (doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1013393) (PMID:40758761) (PMCID:PMC12342294)

Petit, M. et al. (2025) Multi-omics analysis of SFTS virus infection in Rhipicephalus microplus cells reveals antiviral tick factors. Nature Communications, 16(1), 4732. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59565-w) (PMID:40399277) (PMCID:PMC12095547)

Reuter, M. et al. (2025) The PAZ domain of Aedes aegypti Dicer 2 is critical for accurate and high-fidelity size determination of virus-derived small interfering RNAs. RNA, 31(5), pp. 679-691. (doi: 10.1261/rna.080149.124) (PMID:39947927) (PMCID:PMC12001973)

Dummunee, Krittika, Parry, Rhys H., Redecke, Lars, Varjak, Margus ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2608-5148, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Kohl, Alain ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1523-9458 and McFarlane, Melanie ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8392-2291 (2025) The catalytic tetrad of Aedes aegypti Argonaute 2 is critical for the antiviral activity of the exogenous siRNA pathway. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 301(4), 108332. (doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2025.108332) (PMID:39984048) (PMCID:PMC11968273)

2024

Gonzalo Nadal, V. et al. (2024) Suspected tick-borne flavivirus meningoencephalomyelitis in dogs from the UK: six cases (2021). Journal of Small Animal Practice, 65(2), pp. 132-143. (doi: 10.1111/jsap.13682) (PMID:37956993) (PMCID:PMC11497270)

2023

Alexander, A. J.T. et al. (2023) Characterisation of the antiviral RNA interference response to Toscana virus in sand fly cells. PLoS Pathogens, 19(3), e1011283. (doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011283) (PMID:36996243) (PMCID:PMC10112792)

Ayers, Victoria B., Huang, Yan-Jang S., Dunlop, James I., Kohl, Alain ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1523-9458, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Higgs, Stephen and Vanlandingham, Dana L. (2023) Immunogenicity of a candidate live attenuated vaccine for Rift Valley fever virus with a two-segmented genome. Viral Immunology, 36(1), pp. 33-40. (doi: 10.1089/vim.2022.0104) (PMID:36399689) (PMCID:PMC9885543)

2022

Fares, Mazigh ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6003-9244 and Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X (2022) Virus-host interactions during tick-borne bunyavirus infection. Current Opinion in Virology, 57, 101278. (doi: 10.1016/j.coviro.2022.101278) (PMID:36375406)

Ayers, Victoria B., Huang, Yan-Jang S., Dunlop, James I., Kohl, Alain ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1523-9458, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Higgs, Stephen and Vanlandingham, Dana L. (2022) Replication kinetics of a candidate live-attenuated vaccine for Cache Valley virus in Aedes albopictus. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 22(11), pp. 553-558. (doi: 10.1089/vbz.2022.0053) (PMID:36354965) (PMCID:PMC9700352)

De Glanville, W. A. et al. (2022) An outbreak of Rift Valley fever among peri-urban dairy cattle in northern Tanzania. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 116(11), pp. 1082-1090. (doi: 10.1093/trstmh/trac076) (PMID:36040309) (PMCID:PMC9623736)

Bryden, S. R. et al. (2022) Exploration of immunological responses underpinning severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus infection reveals IL-6 as a therapeutic target in an immunocompromised mouse model. PNAS Nexus, 1(1), pgac024. (doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac024) (PMID:35529317) (PMCID:PMC9071185)

2021

Gregor, K. M. et al. (2021) Rift Valley fever virus detection in susceptible hosts with special emphasis in insects. Scientific Reports, 11, 9822. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-89226-z) (PMID:33972596) (PMCID:PMC8110843)

Rihn, S. J. et al. (2021) A plasmid DNA-launched SARS-CoV-2 reverse genetics system and coronavirus toolkit for COVID-19 research. PLoS Biology, 19(2), e3001091. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001091) (PMID:33630831) (PMCID:PMC7906417)

2020

Alexander, A. J.T. et al. (2020) Development of a reverse genetics system for Toscana virus (lineage A). Viruses, 12(4), 411. (doi: 10.3390/v12040411)

2019

Yu, Kwang-Min, Park, Su-Jin, Yu, Min-Ah, Kim, Young-Il, Choi, Younho, Jung, Jae U., Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X and Choi, Young Ki (2019) Cross-genotype protection of live-attenuated vaccine candidate for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus in a ferret model. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(52), pp. 26900-26908. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1914704116) (PMID:31818942) (PMCID:PMC6936527)

Choi, Y. et al. (2019) Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome phlebovirus non-structural protein activates TPL2 signalling pathway for viral immunopathogenesis. Nature Microbiology, 4(3), pp. 429-437. (doi: 10.1038/s41564-018-0329-x) (PMID:30617349) (PMCID:PMC6548314)

Rezelj, Veronica V., Mottram, Timothy J., Hughes, Joseph ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2556-2563, Elliott, Richard M., Kohl, Alain ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1523-9458 and Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X (2019) M segment-based minigenomes and virus-like particle assays as an approach to assess the potential of tick-borne Phlebovirus genome reassortment. Journal of Virology, 93(6), e02068-18. (doi: 10.1128/JVI.02068-18) (PMID:30567991) (PMCID:PMC6401446)

2018

Allen, E. R. et al. (2018) A protective monoclonal antibody targets a site of vulnerability on the surface of Rift Valley fever virus. Cell Reports, 25(13), 3750-3758.e4. (doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.12.001) (PMID:30590046) (PMCID:PMC6315105)

Franzke, K. et al. (2018) Detection, infection dynamics and small RNA response against Culex Y virus in mosquito-derived cells. Journal of General Virology, 99, pp. 1739-1745. (doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001173) (PMID:30394867)

Dunlop, J. I. et al. (2018) Development of reverse genetics systems and investigation of host response antagonism and reassortment potential for Cache Valley and Kairi viruses, two emerging orthobunyaviruses of the Americas. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 12(10), e0006884. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006884) (PMID:30372452) (PMCID:PMC6245839)

Feng, J. et al. (2018) Interferon-stimulated gene (ISG)-expression screening reveals the specific antibunyaviral activity of ISG20. Journal of Virology, 92(13), e02140-17. (doi: 10.1128/JVI.02140-17) (PMID:29695422) (PMCID:PMC6002717)

2017

Barski, Michal, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Miller, Ona K., Potter, Jane A., Vijayakrishnan, Swetha ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1895-1272, Bhella, David ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2096-8310, Naismith, James H., Elliott, Richard M. and Schwarz-Linek, Ulrich (2017) Rift Valley fever phlebovirus NSs protein core domain structure suggests molecular basis for nuclear filaments. eLife, 6, e29236. (doi: 10.7554/elife.29236) (PMID:28915104) (PMCID:PMC5601994)

Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Rezelj, Veronica V. and Elliott, Richard M. (2017) Mapping of transcription termination within the S segment of SFTS phlebovirus facilitated the generation of NSs-deletant viruses. Journal of Virology, 91(16), e00743-17. (doi: 10.1128/JVI.00743-17) (PMID:28592543) (PMCID:PMC5533932)

Cumberworth, S. L. et al. (2017) Zika virus tropism and interactions in myelinating neural cell cultures: CNS cells and myelin are preferentially affected. Acta Neuropathologica Communications, 5, 50. (doi: 10.1186/s40478-017-0450-8) (PMID:28645311) (PMCID:PMC5481922)

Dietrich, I. et al. (2017) RNA interference restricts rift valley fever virus in multiple insect systems. mSphere, 2(3), 00090-17. (doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00090-17) (PMID:28497117) (PMCID:PMC5415632)

Rezelj, Veronica V., Li, Ping ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5282-8190, Chaudhary, Vidyanath, Elliott, Richard M., Jin, Dong-Yan and Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X (2017) Differential antagonism of human innate immune responses by tick-borne Phlebovirus nonstructural proteins. mSphere, 2(3), e00234-17. (doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00234-17) (PMID:28680969) (PMCID:PMC5489658)

Drake, Mary Jane, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Briley, Kenneth, Bart, Stephen M., Sherman, Eric, Szemiel, Agnieszka M., Minutillo, Madeleine, Bushman, Frederic D. and Bates, Paul (2017) A role for glycolipid biosynthesis in severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus entry. PLoS Pathogens, 13(4), e1006316. (doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006316) (PMID:28388693) (PMCID:PMC5397019)

Mottram, Timothy J., Li, Ping ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5282-8190, Dietrich, Isabelle, Shi, Xiaohong ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5289-7222, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Varjak, Margus ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2608-5148 and Kohl, Alain ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1523-9458 (2017) Mutational analysis of Rift Valley fever phlebovirus nucleocapsid protein indicates novel conserved, functional amino acids. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 11(12), e0006155. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006155) (PMID:29267287) (PMCID:PMC5764413)

2016

Donald, C. L. et al. (2016) Full genome sequence and sfRNA interferon antagonist activity of Zika virus from Recife, Brazil. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 10(10), e0005048. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005048) (PMID:27706161) (PMCID:PMC5051680)

Shi, Xiaohong ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5289-7222, Botting, Catherine H., Li, Ping ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5282-8190, Niglas, Mark, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Shirran, Sally L., Szemiel, Agnieszka M. and Elliott, Richard M. (2016) Bunyamwera orthobunyavirus glycoprotein precursor Is processed by cellular signal peptidase and signal peptide peptidase. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(31), pp. 8825-8830. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1603364113) (PMID:27439867) (PMCID:PMC4978261)

Halldorsson, Steinar, Behrens, Anna-Janina, Harlos, Karl, Huiskonen, Juha T., Elliott, Richard M., Crispin, Max, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X and Bowden, Thomas A. (2016) Structure of a phleboviral envelope glycoprotein reveals a consolidated model of membrane fusion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(26), pp. 7145-7159. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1603827113) (PMID:27325770) (PMCID:PMC4932967)

2015

Brennan, B. et al. (2015) In memoriam – Richard M. Elliott (1954–2015). Journal of General Virology, 96(8), pp. 1975-1978. (doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.000241) (PMID:26315040)

2014

Elliott, Richard M. and Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X (2014) Emerging phleboviruses. Current Opinion in Virology, 5, pp. 50-57. (doi: 10.1016/j.coviro.2014.01.011)

Brennan, Ben ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Li, Ping ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5282-8190, Zhang, Shuo, Li, Aqian, Liang, Mifang, Li, Dexin and Elliott, Richard M. (2014) Reverse genetics system for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus. Journal of Virology, 89(6), pp. 3026-3037. (doi: 10.1128/JVI.03432-14) (PMID:25552716)

Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Welch, Stephen R. and Elliott, Richard M. (2014) The consequences of reconfiguring the ambisense S genome segment of Rift Valley fever virus on viral replication in mammalian and mosquito cells and for genome packaging. PLoS Pathogens, 10(2), e1003922. (doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003922)

2011

Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Li, Ping ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5282-8190 and Elliott, Richard M. (2011) Generation and characterization of a recombinant Rift Valley fever virus expressing a V5 epitope-tagged RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Journal of General Virology, 92(12), pp. 2906-2913. (doi: 10.1099/vir.0.036749-0) (PMID:21900422)

Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Welch, Stephen R., McLees, Angela and Elliott, Richard M. (2011) Creation of a recombinant Rift Valley fever virus with a two-segmented genome. Journal of Virology, 85(19), pp. 10310-10318. (doi: 10.1128/JVI.05252-11) (PMID:21795328) (PMCID:PMC3196426)

This list was generated on Tue Sep 8 20:29:59 2026 BST.
Jump to: Articles
Number of items: 40.

Articles

Omoga, Dorcus C. A., Witt, Curtis, Giesel, Henry, Bowen, James M., Gunter, Krista, Pozuelos, Stephanie, Relich, Ryan F., Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Tilston, Natasha L. and Schultz-Cherry, Stacey (2026) Reverse genetics and comparative pathogenesis of Lone Star virus. Journal of Virology, (doi: 10.1128/jvi.01009-26) (PMID:42695751) (Early Online Publication)

Gunter, .K. B. et al. (2026) Conserved pathogenesis of ancestral and contemporary Oropouche virus strains in a murine pregnancy model. Nature Communications, 17(1), 6542. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-72711-2) (PMID:42115164) (PMCID:PMC13381898)

Fares, M. et al. (2026) SFTSV NSs protein is a tick antiviral RNAi response suppressor. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 123(20), e2524728123. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.2524728123) (PMID:42118833) (PMCID:PMC13187740)

Wilson, A. et al. (2025) Uukuniemi virus infection causes a pervasive remodelling of the RNA-binding proteome in tick cells. PLoS Pathogens, 21(8), e1013393. (doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1013393) (PMID:40758761) (PMCID:PMC12342294)

Petit, M. et al. (2025) Multi-omics analysis of SFTS virus infection in Rhipicephalus microplus cells reveals antiviral tick factors. Nature Communications, 16(1), 4732. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59565-w) (PMID:40399277) (PMCID:PMC12095547)

Reuter, M. et al. (2025) The PAZ domain of Aedes aegypti Dicer 2 is critical for accurate and high-fidelity size determination of virus-derived small interfering RNAs. RNA, 31(5), pp. 679-691. (doi: 10.1261/rna.080149.124) (PMID:39947927) (PMCID:PMC12001973)

Dummunee, Krittika, Parry, Rhys H., Redecke, Lars, Varjak, Margus ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2608-5148, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Kohl, Alain ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1523-9458 and McFarlane, Melanie ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8392-2291 (2025) The catalytic tetrad of Aedes aegypti Argonaute 2 is critical for the antiviral activity of the exogenous siRNA pathway. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 301(4), 108332. (doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2025.108332) (PMID:39984048) (PMCID:PMC11968273)

Gonzalo Nadal, V. et al. (2024) Suspected tick-borne flavivirus meningoencephalomyelitis in dogs from the UK: six cases (2021). Journal of Small Animal Practice, 65(2), pp. 132-143. (doi: 10.1111/jsap.13682) (PMID:37956993) (PMCID:PMC11497270)

Alexander, A. J.T. et al. (2023) Characterisation of the antiviral RNA interference response to Toscana virus in sand fly cells. PLoS Pathogens, 19(3), e1011283. (doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011283) (PMID:36996243) (PMCID:PMC10112792)

Ayers, Victoria B., Huang, Yan-Jang S., Dunlop, James I., Kohl, Alain ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1523-9458, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Higgs, Stephen and Vanlandingham, Dana L. (2023) Immunogenicity of a candidate live attenuated vaccine for Rift Valley fever virus with a two-segmented genome. Viral Immunology, 36(1), pp. 33-40. (doi: 10.1089/vim.2022.0104) (PMID:36399689) (PMCID:PMC9885543)

Fares, Mazigh ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6003-9244 and Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X (2022) Virus-host interactions during tick-borne bunyavirus infection. Current Opinion in Virology, 57, 101278. (doi: 10.1016/j.coviro.2022.101278) (PMID:36375406)

Ayers, Victoria B., Huang, Yan-Jang S., Dunlop, James I., Kohl, Alain ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1523-9458, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Higgs, Stephen and Vanlandingham, Dana L. (2022) Replication kinetics of a candidate live-attenuated vaccine for Cache Valley virus in Aedes albopictus. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 22(11), pp. 553-558. (doi: 10.1089/vbz.2022.0053) (PMID:36354965) (PMCID:PMC9700352)

De Glanville, W. A. et al. (2022) An outbreak of Rift Valley fever among peri-urban dairy cattle in northern Tanzania. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 116(11), pp. 1082-1090. (doi: 10.1093/trstmh/trac076) (PMID:36040309) (PMCID:PMC9623736)

Bryden, S. R. et al. (2022) Exploration of immunological responses underpinning severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus infection reveals IL-6 as a therapeutic target in an immunocompromised mouse model. PNAS Nexus, 1(1), pgac024. (doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac024) (PMID:35529317) (PMCID:PMC9071185)

Gregor, K. M. et al. (2021) Rift Valley fever virus detection in susceptible hosts with special emphasis in insects. Scientific Reports, 11, 9822. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-89226-z) (PMID:33972596) (PMCID:PMC8110843)

Rihn, S. J. et al. (2021) A plasmid DNA-launched SARS-CoV-2 reverse genetics system and coronavirus toolkit for COVID-19 research. PLoS Biology, 19(2), e3001091. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001091) (PMID:33630831) (PMCID:PMC7906417)

Alexander, A. J.T. et al. (2020) Development of a reverse genetics system for Toscana virus (lineage A). Viruses, 12(4), 411. (doi: 10.3390/v12040411)

Yu, Kwang-Min, Park, Su-Jin, Yu, Min-Ah, Kim, Young-Il, Choi, Younho, Jung, Jae U., Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X and Choi, Young Ki (2019) Cross-genotype protection of live-attenuated vaccine candidate for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus in a ferret model. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(52), pp. 26900-26908. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1914704116) (PMID:31818942) (PMCID:PMC6936527)

Choi, Y. et al. (2019) Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome phlebovirus non-structural protein activates TPL2 signalling pathway for viral immunopathogenesis. Nature Microbiology, 4(3), pp. 429-437. (doi: 10.1038/s41564-018-0329-x) (PMID:30617349) (PMCID:PMC6548314)

Rezelj, Veronica V., Mottram, Timothy J., Hughes, Joseph ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2556-2563, Elliott, Richard M., Kohl, Alain ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1523-9458 and Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X (2019) M segment-based minigenomes and virus-like particle assays as an approach to assess the potential of tick-borne Phlebovirus genome reassortment. Journal of Virology, 93(6), e02068-18. (doi: 10.1128/JVI.02068-18) (PMID:30567991) (PMCID:PMC6401446)

Allen, E. R. et al. (2018) A protective monoclonal antibody targets a site of vulnerability on the surface of Rift Valley fever virus. Cell Reports, 25(13), 3750-3758.e4. (doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.12.001) (PMID:30590046) (PMCID:PMC6315105)

Franzke, K. et al. (2018) Detection, infection dynamics and small RNA response against Culex Y virus in mosquito-derived cells. Journal of General Virology, 99, pp. 1739-1745. (doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001173) (PMID:30394867)

Dunlop, J. I. et al. (2018) Development of reverse genetics systems and investigation of host response antagonism and reassortment potential for Cache Valley and Kairi viruses, two emerging orthobunyaviruses of the Americas. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 12(10), e0006884. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006884) (PMID:30372452) (PMCID:PMC6245839)

Feng, J. et al. (2018) Interferon-stimulated gene (ISG)-expression screening reveals the specific antibunyaviral activity of ISG20. Journal of Virology, 92(13), e02140-17. (doi: 10.1128/JVI.02140-17) (PMID:29695422) (PMCID:PMC6002717)

Barski, Michal, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Miller, Ona K., Potter, Jane A., Vijayakrishnan, Swetha ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1895-1272, Bhella, David ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2096-8310, Naismith, James H., Elliott, Richard M. and Schwarz-Linek, Ulrich (2017) Rift Valley fever phlebovirus NSs protein core domain structure suggests molecular basis for nuclear filaments. eLife, 6, e29236. (doi: 10.7554/elife.29236) (PMID:28915104) (PMCID:PMC5601994)

Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Rezelj, Veronica V. and Elliott, Richard M. (2017) Mapping of transcription termination within the S segment of SFTS phlebovirus facilitated the generation of NSs-deletant viruses. Journal of Virology, 91(16), e00743-17. (doi: 10.1128/JVI.00743-17) (PMID:28592543) (PMCID:PMC5533932)

Cumberworth, S. L. et al. (2017) Zika virus tropism and interactions in myelinating neural cell cultures: CNS cells and myelin are preferentially affected. Acta Neuropathologica Communications, 5, 50. (doi: 10.1186/s40478-017-0450-8) (PMID:28645311) (PMCID:PMC5481922)

Dietrich, I. et al. (2017) RNA interference restricts rift valley fever virus in multiple insect systems. mSphere, 2(3), 00090-17. (doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00090-17) (PMID:28497117) (PMCID:PMC5415632)

Rezelj, Veronica V., Li, Ping ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5282-8190, Chaudhary, Vidyanath, Elliott, Richard M., Jin, Dong-Yan and Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X (2017) Differential antagonism of human innate immune responses by tick-borne Phlebovirus nonstructural proteins. mSphere, 2(3), e00234-17. (doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00234-17) (PMID:28680969) (PMCID:PMC5489658)

Drake, Mary Jane, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Briley, Kenneth, Bart, Stephen M., Sherman, Eric, Szemiel, Agnieszka M., Minutillo, Madeleine, Bushman, Frederic D. and Bates, Paul (2017) A role for glycolipid biosynthesis in severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus entry. PLoS Pathogens, 13(4), e1006316. (doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006316) (PMID:28388693) (PMCID:PMC5397019)

Mottram, Timothy J., Li, Ping ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5282-8190, Dietrich, Isabelle, Shi, Xiaohong ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5289-7222, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Varjak, Margus ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2608-5148 and Kohl, Alain ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1523-9458 (2017) Mutational analysis of Rift Valley fever phlebovirus nucleocapsid protein indicates novel conserved, functional amino acids. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 11(12), e0006155. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006155) (PMID:29267287) (PMCID:PMC5764413)

Donald, C. L. et al. (2016) Full genome sequence and sfRNA interferon antagonist activity of Zika virus from Recife, Brazil. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 10(10), e0005048. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005048) (PMID:27706161) (PMCID:PMC5051680)

Shi, Xiaohong ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5289-7222, Botting, Catherine H., Li, Ping ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5282-8190, Niglas, Mark, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Shirran, Sally L., Szemiel, Agnieszka M. and Elliott, Richard M. (2016) Bunyamwera orthobunyavirus glycoprotein precursor Is processed by cellular signal peptidase and signal peptide peptidase. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(31), pp. 8825-8830. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1603364113) (PMID:27439867) (PMCID:PMC4978261)

Halldorsson, Steinar, Behrens, Anna-Janina, Harlos, Karl, Huiskonen, Juha T., Elliott, Richard M., Crispin, Max, Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X and Bowden, Thomas A. (2016) Structure of a phleboviral envelope glycoprotein reveals a consolidated model of membrane fusion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(26), pp. 7145-7159. (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1603827113) (PMID:27325770) (PMCID:PMC4932967)

Brennan, B. et al. (2015) In memoriam – Richard M. Elliott (1954–2015). Journal of General Virology, 96(8), pp. 1975-1978. (doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.000241) (PMID:26315040)

Elliott, Richard M. and Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X (2014) Emerging phleboviruses. Current Opinion in Virology, 5, pp. 50-57. (doi: 10.1016/j.coviro.2014.01.011)

Brennan, Ben ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Li, Ping ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5282-8190, Zhang, Shuo, Li, Aqian, Liang, Mifang, Li, Dexin and Elliott, Richard M. (2014) Reverse genetics system for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus. Journal of Virology, 89(6), pp. 3026-3037. (doi: 10.1128/JVI.03432-14) (PMID:25552716)

Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Welch, Stephen R. and Elliott, Richard M. (2014) The consequences of reconfiguring the ambisense S genome segment of Rift Valley fever virus on viral replication in mammalian and mosquito cells and for genome packaging. PLoS Pathogens, 10(2), e1003922. (doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003922)

Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Li, Ping ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5282-8190 and Elliott, Richard M. (2011) Generation and characterization of a recombinant Rift Valley fever virus expressing a V5 epitope-tagged RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Journal of General Virology, 92(12), pp. 2906-2913. (doi: 10.1099/vir.0.036749-0) (PMID:21900422)

Brennan, Benjamin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-726X, Welch, Stephen R., McLees, Angela and Elliott, Richard M. (2011) Creation of a recombinant Rift Valley fever virus with a two-segmented genome. Journal of Virology, 85(19), pp. 10310-10318. (doi: 10.1128/JVI.05252-11) (PMID:21795328) (PMCID:PMC3196426)

This list was generated on Tue Sep 8 20:29:59 2026 BST.

Grants

Grants and Awards listed are those received whilst working with the University of Glasgow.

  • Tick-Borne viruses and zoonotic threats: from discovery to animal exposure
    Global Virus Network
    2025 - 2026
     
  • Developing mRNA vaccines against Oropouche virus
    University of Liverpool
    2024 - 2025
     
  • TickTools: Development of tools to monitor and control tick-borne diseases of humans and livestock
    UK Research and Innovation
    2023 - 2026
     
  • Molecular basis for Rift Valley fever phlebovirus NSs protein function
    Medical Research Council
    2022 - 2025
     
  • What makes viruses tick?
    Wellcome Trust
    2022 - 2024
     
  • What makes phleboviruses tick? Examining the molecular interactions of tick-borne phleboviruses with their arthropod vector
    Wellcome Trust
    2018 - 2023
     
  • Vaccines and molecular tools for the control of the emerging bunyavirus, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV)
    Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
    2018 - 2021
     

Professional activities & recognition

Prizes, awards & distinctions

  • 2017: Support Sir Henry Dale Fellowship (Lord Kelvin Adam Smith Leadership Fellow Funding)

Research fellowships

  • 2018: Wellcome Trust/Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellowship

Editorial boards

  • 2022: Journal of General Virology Editor
  • 2015 - 2020: Journal of General Virology

Research datasets

Jump to: 2026 | 2025 | 2022 | 2020 | 2019
Number of items: 10.

2026

Clarke, A. T. , Davies, K., Fares, M., Szemiel, A., Correa Mendonca, D. , Kerr, K., Herder, V. , Bell-Sakyi, L., Willett, B. J. , Patel, A. H., Kohl, A. and Brennan, B. (2026) Functional divergence of the NSs protein defines interferon antagonism and viral fitness across Bhanja virus lineages. [Data Collection]

Clarke, A. T. , Davies, K., Fares, M., Szemiel, A., Correa Mendonca, D. , Kerr, K., Herder, V. , Bell-Sakyi, L., Willett, B. J. , Patel, A. H., Kohl, A. and Brennan, B. (2026) Functional divergence of the NSs protein defines interferon antagonism and viral fitness across Bhanja virus lineages. [Data Collection]

2025

Fares, M., McFarlane, M. , Parry, R., Clarke, A. , Arif, R., Kamel, W. , Davies, K., Bell-Sakyi, L., Petit, M., Schnettler, E., Castello, A. , Kohl, A. and Brennan, B. (2025) SFTSV NSs protein is a novel tick antiviral RNAi response suppressor. [Data Collection]

Wilson, A., Kamel, W. , Davies, K., De Laurent, Z. R., Arif, R., Clarke, A. T. , Bell-Sakyi, L., Lamont, D., Demyanenko, Y., Noerenberg, M., Kohl, A. , Mohammed, S., Castello, A. and Brennan, B. (2025) Uukuniemi virus infection causes a pervasive remodelling of the RNA-binding proteome in tick cells. [Data Collection]

Dummunee, K., Parry, R. H., Redecke, L., Varjak, M., Brennan, B. , Kohl, A. and McFarlane, M. (2025) The slicer activity of Aedes aegypti Argonaute 2 is critical for the antiviral activity of the antiviral exogenous siRNA pathway. [Data Collection]

2022

Alexander, A. , Salvemini, M., Sreenu, V. B., Hughes, J. , Telleria, E. L., Ratinier, M., Arnaud, F., Volf, P., Brennan, B. , Varjak, M. and Kohl, A. (2022) Characterisation of the antiviral RNA interference response to Toscana virus in sand fly cells. [Data Collection]

Bryden, S. , Dunlop, J., Clarke, A., Fares, M. , Pingen, M., Wu, Y., Willett, B. , Patel, A. , Gao, G., Kohl, A. and Brennan, B. (2022) Elucidation of the immunological responses underpinning severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome reveals IL-6 as novel therapeutic target. [Data Collection]

2020

Alexander, A., Confort, M.-P., Desloire, S., Dunlop, J., Kuchi, S., Vattipally, S. , Mair, D., Wilkie, G., Da Silva Felipe, A., Brennan, B. , Ratinier, M., Arnaud, F. and Kohl, A. (2020) Development of a reverse genetics system for Toscana virus (lineage A). [Data Collection]

2019

Yu, K.-M., Park, S.-J., Yu, M.-A., Kim, Y.-I., Younho, C., Jae U, J., Brennan, B. and Young Ki, C. (2019) Cross-genotype protection of live-attenuated vaccine candidate for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus in a ferret model. [Data Collection]

Rezelj, V. V., Mottram, T., Hughes, J., Elliott, R. M., Kohl, A. and Brennan, B. (2019) M segment-based minigenomes and virus-like particle assays as an approach to assess the potential of tick-borne Phlebovirus genome reassortment. [Data Collection]

This list was generated on Tue Sep 8 05:50:27 2026 BST.

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