Shytaj Lab

Exploring viral-host metabolism for therapeutic innovation

About the Lab

We are an international research group at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom, studying how intracellular metabolic dysregulation influences viral replication and persistence, with a particular focus on the human retroviruses HIV‑1 and HTLV‑1.

Our work integrates multi‑omics analyses with primary cell models and patient‑derived samples, and through close collaboration with clinical partners in the UK and abroad, we aim to link molecular discoveries and therapeutic development to deliver tangible real‑world benefits.

Our Team

Iart Luca Shytaj

Group Leader

Luca obtained his PhD in 2014 in Infectious Diseases working at the Italian National Institute of Health in Rome, Italy. His PhD work led to the development of a macaque model for studying the persistence of simian immunodeficiency virus during antiretroviral therapy. During his postdoctoral research at Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany, he explored how redox balance and glycolytic metabolism influence the establishment and maintenance of HIV latency. Several of the therapeutic strategies he tested advanced to a clinical trial in São Paulo, Brazil, where he later served as a Visiting Professor between 2020–2022. In 2022, he established his independent research group at the University of Bristol, becoming Senior Lecturer in 2024.

Lara Gallucci

Marie Curie Research Fellow

Lara obtained her PhD at the University of Bordeaux (Bordeaux, France), where she studied the nuclear import of the Hepatitis B virus. She then moved to the Center for Integrative Infectious Disease Research in Heidelberg (Germany) as a postdoctoral researcher, focusing on the role of the 3D environment during HIV‑1 infection. She is currently a Marie Curie Research Fellow, where her research focuses on metabolic dysregulation induced by retroviruses such as HIV‑1 and HTLV‑1 in primary and patient‑derived cells.

Vincent Cantaloube‑Ferrieu

Postdoctoral Fellow

Vincent obtained his PhD at the University of Toulouse (France), where he studied HIV‑1 infection of macrophages via cell‑to‑cell fusion with infected CD4⁺ T lymphocytes. He joined the lab in August 2024 as a postdoctoral fellow and is currently working on identifying molecular signatures that distinguish latently infected cells from uninfected or actively infected ones — with a particular focus on metabolic discrepancies during HIV‑1 latency.

Phoebe Kibble

PhD Student

Phoebe is a PhD student investigating HIV‑1 infection mechanics with a focus on latency and active replication using proteomic and pharmacological approaches. She earned an Integrated Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences with Honours from Cardiff University in 2023. Her prior work includes research on Escherichia coli, Neisseria meningitidis, SARS‑CoV‑2, and other pathogens.

Maria Josephine

Research Technician

Josephine holds a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from Newcastle University, where she focused her dissertation on Flt3‑ligand regulation in paediatric AML. She previously worked at AstraZeneca (Cambridge) on lead optimisation of an alpha‑helical peptide using machine learning and phage display, and held assistant positions in the Amarnath Immune Regulation Group and the Newcastle Brain Tissue Resource.

Elizabeth Hanna

Master of Research

Elizabeth completed her medical degree at the University of Cambridge in 2023 and then worked as a resident doctor in NHS Grampian for the following two years. Her area of research is investigating metabolic changes which occur in lymphoid organoids latently infected with HIV.

Trusha Ramteke

Master of Research

Trusha completed her bachelor’s degree in Biology and undertook internships at the National University of Singapore and the University of Cambridge. Her past work spans bacterial biofilms, the murine epididymis, and cellular autophagy. During her MRes, she will use CRISPR-Cas to investigate the determinants of mitochondrial dysregulation in HTLV-1–infected cells.

Alumni

Visiting Researchers

Harsha Mambully – Commonwealth Split-Site Visiting PhD Student (2026)

MSci Students

Beth Hoare – MSci Student (2025–2026)
Rebecca Lin – MSci Student (2025–2026)
Sophie Shackley – MSci Student (2024–2025)
Alex Quin – MSci Student (2024–2025)
Cristian Voiculescu – MSci Student (2023–2024)
Millie Robinson – MSci Student (2022–2023)

Research

Mitochondrial Metabolism and HIV‑1 Latency

Latent HIV in Lymphoid Tissue Organoids

HTLV‑1 Therapeutic Marker Discovery

Broad‑Spectrum Anti‑Coronavirus Agents

Recent Selected Publications

Fast pH-Driven Solubilization Method of Realgar (As4S4) to Reduce the Toxicity of Arsenic [As(III)] for Medicinal Purposes

Lucic et al. Adv Sci (2025); We introduce a novel formulation of realgar (As₄S₄) to target both acute promyelocytic leukemia and HIV latent persistence.

Broad-spectrum antiviral activity of two structurally analogous CYP3A inhibitors against pathogenic human coronaviruses in vitro

Gallucci et al. Antiviral Res (2024); We demonstrate that a class of pharmacoenhancers has direct and broad antiviral activity against human coronaviruses.

A scalable workflow to test “shock and kill” therapeutic approaches against the HIV-1 latent reservoir in blood cells ex vivo

Procopio et al. STAR Protoc (2023); A drug-screening protocol that combines latency reversal and immune clearance of HIV‑1-infected cells ex vivo.

The FDA-Approved Drug Cobicistat Synergizes with Remdesivir To Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Replication In Vitro and Decreases Viral Titers and Disease Progression in Syrian Hamsters

Shytaj et al. mBio (2022); We show that the HIV pharmacoenhancer cobicistat inhibits SARS‑CoV‑2 replication in vitro and in vivo.

All Publications

For a full list of publications, see:

PubMed

Other Outputs

For a list of patents and patent applications, see:

Google Patents

Join the Lab

We welcome expressions of interest from motivated students and postdoctoral researchers. The lab can also support applications from suitable candidates to several internationally competitive fellowship programmes, including:

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (Horizon Europe)
EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowships
Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship (eligible for researchers from Germany only)
Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) Postdoctoral Fellowships

Funded opportunities to join the lab will appear below when available. If you are interested in joining through external funding or personal fellowships, please contact the PI at luca.shytaj@bristol.ac.uk.

News & Highlights

2026

Research to Reward Audience Choice Award

Lara's pitch was awarded the audience prize at the Research to Reward showcase, with voting support by all virology teams (and more)! The funding will enable testing novel antibody-drug conjugates to target a potential marker of multiple oncovirus infections

Lab Visit to São Caetano do Sul Covered in Brazilian Media

Our recent exchange visit to the University of São Caetano do Sul was featured by multiple Brazilian news outlets.

USCS Official Release · ABC do ABC · Repórter Diário

Anti‑HIV / Anti‑Cancer Therapy Featured on Advanced Science Inside Cover

Our research on a dual‑function molecule with antiviral and anti‑leukemic activity was featured on the inside cover of Advanced Science.

View the publication

Presentation at BIOVARIA 2025 (Munich)

Luca presented the results on broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus agents and the related patent at BIOVARIA 2025 in Munich.

View the conference programme

2023

MSci Student Millie Robinson Awarded Lucy Brown Cancer Prize

Our MSci student, Millie Robinson, received the Lucy Brown Cancer Prize for her thesis research on a compound with promising dual anti‑cancer and anti‑HIV activity.