Georgetown University · Microbiology & ImmunologyHepatitis B Research and Treatment Unit
Stephan Menne · Washington, District of Columbia
Research Focus
Dr. Stephan Menne's lab at Georgetown University focuses on understanding and developing new treatments for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The lab works with woodchucks, natural hosts of a closely related virus, to create models that can help evaluate new anti-HBV drugs and better understand how HBV persists in the body. By modifying either the virus or the woodchuck's immune system, the lab aims to improve the efficiency of HBV infection in these models, which is critical for drug development and ultimately for improving patient outcomes.
hepatitis B viruswoodchuckanimal modelsantiviral developmentliver diseasevirologyimmune responseviral adaptation
Research Aims
4AIM 01Develop a modified HBV that can infect woodchucks more effectively.
AIM 02Create immunocompetent and immunosuppressed woodchuck models to study HBV infection outcomes.
AIM 03Evaluate the genetic changes in HBV that allow adaptation to woodchucks.
AIM 04Assess the liver disease progression in woodchucks infected with HBV.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culture techniquesviral replication assaysimmunocompetent model generationgenetic modificationsequence analysisanimal handlinghistopathologyexperimental design
Output against the department
Publications108bottom 39% of dept.295th of 486
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations2.7kbottom 17% of dept.401st of 486
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.