Pierre Maillard

Dr. Pierre Maillard is a Senior Lecturer in Antiviral Immunity at the Centre for Immunobiology within the Blizard Institute at Queen Mary University of London's Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. He leads the Maillard Lab, which focuses on understanding cellular defense mechanisms against viruses.

Dr. Maillard received his PhD from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, where he studied cell-intrinsic defense against retroviruses. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, investigating RNA interference in mammals, followed by work at the Francis Crick Institute in London examining the interplay between antiviral RNA interference and the interferon system.

• 2017: Awarded Wolfson UCL Excellence Fellowship to establish independent research at University College London
• 2020: Awarded UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship and Barts Charity Lectureship to start his research group at Queen Mary University of London

Dr. Maillard's research focuses on antiviral immunity, particularly the role of RNA interference (RNAi) in mammalian antiviral defense systems. His lab investigates the cell types and contexts where RNAi plays a role in mammalian antiviral defense and the cellular mechanisms that regulate the interferon (IFN) response. The lab's work explores how mammalian cells defend themselves against viruses through both RNAi pathways and interferon responses.

Analysis of Dr. Maillard's publications shows a consistent focus on antiviral RNA interference mechanisms in mammalian systems. His research has significantly contributed to understanding how RNAi functions as an antiviral defense in mammals, challenging previous assumptions that this mechanism was limited to plants and invertebrates. His work bridges molecular virology, immunology, and cell biology to uncover fundamental mechanisms of host-virus interactions.

• Wolfson UCL Excellence Fellowship
• UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship
• Barts Charity Lectureship

Dr. Maillard actively supervises postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, and research assistants in his laboratory. His current team includes postdoctoral researchers Dr. Josephine Nemegeer and Dr. Raul Y. Sanchez-David, PhD student James Holt (co-supervised with Dr. Helen Rowe), and research assistant Hoang Le. His lab has previously mentored several postdoctoral researchers, technicians, and MSc students who have contributed to the lab's research on antiviral immunity.

The Maillard Lab operates within the Centre for Immunobiology at the Blizard Institute, benefiting from state-of-the-art research facilities and collaborative opportunities with other research groups focused on immunology, virology, and infectious diseases.