Robert A. Davey has worked in high-containment labs for more than 20 years and has been a Boston University National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) faculty member since 2018.

NEIDL

Renowned Virologist Robert A. Davey to Lead NEIDL, BU’s Infectious Diseases Research Hub

An expert on virus-host interactions and antiviral drug discovery, Davey says NEIDL will continue to focus on conducting “creative, inventive science in the safest ways possible”

Internationally renowned virologist Robert A. Davey has been named interim director of Boston University’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL). An expert on virus-host interactions and antiviral drug discovery, he replaces Nancy J. Sullivan, an Ebola treatment and vaccine pioneer, who is stepping down to focus on her research; Sullivan will remain a member of BU’s biology and medical faculty.

Davey is a BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine professor of virology, immunology, and microbiology; his work has been published in a range of influential journals, including Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He also serves as vice chair of the BU Biosafety Committee. As NEIDL’s interim director, he’ll be leading a national hub for the safe study of infectious diseases and pathogens, including HIV/AIDS, Ebola, Marburg, Zika, and yellow fever. In recent years, the academic research center has also helped propel advances in our understanding of COVID-19, with BU experts—including Davey, a NEIDL faculty member since 2018—opening up new pathways for vaccines and treatments.

“The NEIDL plays a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of infectious diseases that have the potential to become major threats to public health,” says Thomas Bifano, BU vice president and associate provost ad interim for research. “As a cornerstone of Boston University’s research enterprise, it is shaping the future of infectious disease research through innovation, collaboration, and global impact. Dr. Davey’s expertise and leadership in high-containment research and recruiting will ensure the continuity of the center’s critical work.”

Davey received his doctorate in microbiology and immunology from the University of Adelaide in his native Australia, moving to the United States to continue his training at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He later taught at Harvard University and the University of Texas, and served as a director at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute. Much of Davey’s recent research has focused on hemorrhagic fever viruses, particularly Ebola, with the goal of developing new treatments.

As well as doing “creative, inventive science in the safest ways possible,” Davey says his key priorities as interim director are to sustain NEIDL’s momentum, help it navigate new challenges in the research landscape, and strengthen its leadership in high-impact science and public health preparedness.

“The building, a state-of-the-art high-containment lab, is a great strength,” says Davey, who will lead NEIDL while the University conducts a national search for the next permanent director. “My colleagues—investigators, staff that support this enterprise—are a great strength. The support from BU is also a great strength. Those things coming together make this place very special.”

Completed in 2009, NEIDL is one of only two National Biocontainment Laboratories in the United States and its Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) status allows researchers to study some of the world’s most dangerous pathogens in a highly secure and protected environment. Davey has worked in high-containment labs for more than 20 years, and one of his goals is to take greater advantage of NEIDL’s BSL-4 capacity to study priority pathogens, as well as to recruit new researchers to the facility.

“Science today is really a team sport—you cannot do good science by yourself. This place is about collaboration and teamwork and doing something synergistic, new, inventive,” he says. BU researchers and staff frequently collaborate with biopharma and biotech partners—as well as academic colleagues around the globe—and have worked hard to build strong relationships with the local community and federal and local public health organizations. The lab is located in BioSquare, an innovation and business park in Boston’s South End.

“We’re at the inventive hub of the whole biopharma industry in Boston,” says Davey. “That’s what we are building, and that’s where we want to be in the future, always driving that.”

Among possible new in-house partnerships, he cites strengthening ties with the BU Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases, which works to advance societal resilience to public health threats. He also emphasizes the importance of educating and training future scientists.

“I have been deeply engaged in developing effective strategies to prepare the next generation of talented scientists for work in high-containment research,” says Davey. “Our students at BU are outstanding: highly motivated, intellectually curious, and committed to advancing public health. They represent the future of this field and deserve our full support and investment.”

In a letter to the BU infectious diseases research community announcing Davey’s appointment, Bifano thanked Sullivan for “her contributions during her time in leadership,” saying he looked “forward to her continued research as an internationally respected leader in viral immunology, emerging diseases prevention, and infectious disease research.” Before joining BU, Sullivan was chief of the Biodefense Research Section at the federal government’s Vaccine Research Center. Renowned for her work to take down Ebola, Marburg, and other hemorrhagic fever viruses, she made major contributions to efforts to develop Ebola treatments and vaccines.

Last year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded NEIDL a $7.5 million grant to upgrade its facilities and help broaden its impact. At the time, US Senator Ed Markey (Hon.’04) (D-Mass.) said the award was “a testament to the important work” happening at BU and that “the bright minds at the NEIDL are keeping all of us safer from future pandemics.” In a time of significant upheaval in federal support for, and policies on, science and healthcare, Davey says the NEIDL team has “an opportunity to show the government and the people of the United States that this work is important.” He’s planning more community outreach and education to showcase the vital research happening at BU.

“You never know what’s coming around the corner in terms of viral pathogens: they’re always trying to find a way [in], to find a host to thrive on, a new niche where they can expand,” says Davey, who points to NEIDL researchers’ dedication to developing new therapies against existing pathogens and improving our understanding of how viruses work to better prepare for threats to come. 

In a letter to his NEIDL colleagues about his appointment, Davey said he is committed to working with them to position “the NEIDL at the forefront of therapeutic discovery and development.”