Department: Bioquímica y Biología Molecular

Area: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Research group: VIROLOGÍA Y PARASITOLOGÍA MOLECULAR

Email: fparra@uniovi.es

Personal web: http://www.unioviedo.es/virlab/

Doctor by the Universidad de Oviedo with the thesis Efecto de la 2-desoxi-d-glucosa sobre la síntesis y la secreción de la invertasa en saccharomyces carlsbergensis g-517 1980. Supervised by Dr. Fernando Moreno Sanz.

Francisco Parra graduated in Sciences (Biology) at the University of Oviedo (1975) where later he made his doctoral thesis (1980) obtaining the extraordinary prize. Between 1980 and 1982 he was post-doctoral researcher (EMBO scholarship) in the Biochemistry Department (Universtity of Cambridge, UK). He has held various positions as Assistant Professor, Associate and Full Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Oviedo. Since 1999 he is Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, between 2005-2013 and from 2017 he is Director of the University Institute of Biotechnology of Asturias. His fields of expertise are within the molecular biology applied to the virology and parasitology. The lines of work of his laboratory are related to the identification, cloning and expression of genes of diagnostic-vaccine interest obtained from parasites and viruses of veterinary and medical relevance. In the field of virology, In addition to the rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), it has investigated several animal viruses such as the one responsible for transmissible gastroenteritis, the virus of the African swine fever or myxoma virus in order to develop better diagnostic methods and vaccines. Among human viruses he has investigated about herpes simplex types I and II or Norwalk virus (causing gastroenteritis) with the purpose or developing antiviral compounds of natural origin or by rational design. Since 1990 has worked in a special way with RHDV, the causative agent of rabbit haemorrhagic disease, and myxoma virus (MYXV) of lagomorphs to know their mechanisms of replication and particularly to design and produce safer, cheaper and more effective vaccines applicable to domestic and wild animals. In the last 30 years he has been the principal investigator of more of 30 projects financed by public and private entities, both national and international, has directed 21 doctoral theses and owns several patents regading diagnostic and vaccine procedures against parasites and viruses.