Dr Redmond Smyth, Former Group Leader

Redmond Smyth carried out his undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge (UK), specializing in Virology and Immunology. He then moved to the Burnet Institute, Melbourne (Australia) for his PhD, where he investigated the mechanisms of HIV-1 genetic diversity in its natural target cells. His PhD research pointed to the importance of RNA structure in regulating viral infection processes, which is why he then moved to Strasbourg (France) for his post-doctoral research to train as an RNA biochemist. Here, he worked on understanding the mechanisms leading to the incorporation of the HIV-1 genomic RNA into viral particles. In 2015, he was recruited to the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) as a chargé de recherché (CR2). From 2018 to 2024, a research group at the Helmholtz Institute Würzburg (HIRI), led by Redmond Smyth, focused on the genome architecture and evolution of RNA viruses. While maintaining close ties to research at the HIRI, Smyth now leads a research group in Strasbourg, where he was appointed by the CNRS in 2024.