Hussin Rothan, Ph.D.

Research Focus

Hussin Rothan, Ph.D., is a molecular virologist dedicated to translating scientific advancements into impactful contributions to global public health. He helps develop therapeutics and vaccines targeting emerging and reemerging viruses, most recently contributing to the development of Paxlovid for treating COVID-19.

Dr. Rothan joined Dr. Martinez-Sobrido’s team at Texas Biomed in 2024. He is currently developing live-attenuated and virus-vectored vaccines to induce robust immune responses leading to prolonged immunity and protection efficacy against different viral pathogens. He is also investigating drug resistance mechanisms through virus reverse genetic studies. Simultaneously, he focuses on targeting host factors pivotal for virus replication. These host factors could offer a promising strategy for broad-spectrum treatments while mitigating virus drug resistance.

Prior to Texas Biomed, Dr. Rothan was a principal scientist at Pfizer, and has conducted research worldwide, including at the University of Sheffield in the U.K., University of Malaya in Malaysia, University of Maryland and Georgia State University in the U.S. His research has focused on how viruses invade the brain, the roles of protein degradation and kinase signaling pathways in viral replication, and inflammation and innate immunity responses to viral infection.

Notably, he has become an expert in viral protease enzymes. For example, Paxlovid is an oral protease inhibitor that targets the SARS-CoV-2 main protease. He has also helped develop diagnostic drug tests for Dengue and Zika viruses, specifically, NS2B/NS3 serine protease assays seeking inhibitors to block those viruses.