Dr Rhys Parry
Dr

Rhys Parry

Email: 

Background

I am a molecular virologist and postdoctoral research fellow in Prof. Alexander Khromykh's laboratory, specialising in virus evolution, virus bioinformatics, and reverse genetics.

My research journey began with a Bachelor of Science, First Class Honours in Molecular Biology from The University of Queensland (2015). I then pursued my PhD (2016-2021) at UQ's School of Biology under Prof. Sassan Asgari, where I analysed the virome and microbiome of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, focusing on their interactions with Wolbachia pipientis infections.

Since 2021, I have been a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Alexander Khromykh's RNA Virology lab. Here, I contributed to developing the SARS-CoV-2 circular polymerase extension reaction (CPER) reverse-genetics methodology. As a physical containment 3 (PC3) researcher, I examine the virological properties of Flaviviruses and SARS-CoV-2 viruses under stringent PC3 conditions. Recently, with support from Therapeutic Innovation Australia and the Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, I have been utilising the Kunjin virus replicon system as a versatile and durable self-replicating RNA platform for vaccine and protein replacement therapy.

Beyond my virology work, I actively provide bioinformatics and phylogenetics support within UQ and internationally. Let's connect if you’re interested in collaborating on differential gene and ncRNA expression analysis, ATAC-sequencing, ancestral state prediction, virus discovery, or microbiome analyses.

I am also on the organising committee of MicroSeq (2023-2024), an Australasian Microbiology conference focused on microbial sequencing promoting PhD students and early career researchers. Additionally, I am an incoming Ex Officio member of the Australian Society for Microbiology (ASM) Queensland branch.

Availability

Dr Rhys Parry is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Bioinformatics and computational biology Biological Sciences Genetics Genomics Microbiology Molecular evolution Virology

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Science, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor (Honours) of Science (Advanced), The University of Queensland
  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland

Research interests

  • Development of self-replicating RNA vaccines and therapeutics.

  • Flavivirus evolution and diversity.

  • Interferon-antagonistic activities of amino acid residues in the West Nile virus capsid protein identified by deep mutational scanning.

Research impacts

As a COVID-19 scientist, I am actively combating misinformation about COVID-19 research through academic channels and providing expert analysis to independent journalism organisations engaged in Fact-Checking. Some examples include COVID-19 vaccine misinformation examined by the Australian Associated Press and Health Feedback, an organisation contracted by Facebook to verify misinformation.

Search Professor Rhys Parry’s works on UQ eSpace

63 works between 2018 and 2025
All (63) Journal Article (62) Other Outputs (1)

1 - 20 of 63 works

2025

Journal Article

Global transcriptional reprogramming by cytomegalovirus infection suppresses MHC class II antigen presentation while enhancing migration machinery in murine dendritic cells

Parry, Rhys H, McMillan, Christopher L D, Bruce, Kimberley L and Farrell, Helen E (2025). Global transcriptional reprogramming by cytomegalovirus infection suppresses MHC class II antigen presentation while enhancing migration machinery in murine dendritic cells. Microbial genomics, 11 (11). doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001563

Global transcriptional reprogramming by cytomegalovirus infection suppresses MHC class II antigen presentation while enhancing migration machinery in murine dendritic cells

2025

Journal Article

Mounting evidence for an expanded host range of influenza B viruses

Koutsakos, Marios, Parry, Rhys H. and Wille, Michelle (2025). Mounting evidence for an expanded host range of influenza B viruses. Viruses, 17 (12) 1528, 1528. doi: 10.3390/v17121528

Mounting evidence for an expanded host range of influenza B viruses

2025

Journal Article

Genomic analysis of Androctonus mauritanicus toursvirus: first evidence of Ascoviridae in arachnids

El Ghoubali, Douae, Parry, Rhys H., Pirro, Stacy, Hamdi, Salsabil, Habib, Nihal, El Jaoudi, Rachid, Bousta, Dalila, Barrijal, Said, Nejjari, Chakib, Al Idrissi, Najib, Belyamani, Lahcen and Ghazal, Hassan (2025). Genomic analysis of Androctonus mauritanicus toursvirus: first evidence of Ascoviridae in arachnids. Virus genes, 61 (6), 733-741. doi: 10.1007/s11262-025-02197-5

Genomic analysis of Androctonus mauritanicus toursvirus: first evidence of Ascoviridae in arachnids

2025

Journal Article

Vaccine-induced and hybrid immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in two cohorts in Queensland, Australia (2021-2022)

Parry, Rhys H., Shang, Yingjun, Sng, Julian D. J., McMillan, Christopher L. D., Modhiran, Naphak, Amarilla, Alberto A., Isaacs, Ariel, Liang, Benjamin, Muller, David A., Rawle, Daniel J., Suhrbier, Andreas, Anderson, Stevie, Kelly, Samuel, Watterson, Daniel, Burr, Lucy D. and Khromykh, Alexander A. (2025). Vaccine-induced and hybrid immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in two cohorts in Queensland, Australia (2021-2022). Journal of Medical Virology, 97 (10) e70642, 1-15. doi: 10.1002/jmv.70642

Vaccine-induced and hybrid immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in two cohorts in Queensland, Australia (2021-2022)

2025

Journal Article

A roadmap for equitable reuse of public microbiome data

Hug, Laura A., Hatzenpichler, Roland, Moraru, Cristina, Soares, André R., Meyer, Folker, Heyder, Anke, Zwirzitz, B., Ziels, R. M., Zhu, J., Zhang, Y., Xiu, W., Wu, M., Woyke, T., Worden, A. Z., Williams, T. A., Williams, C. L., Wichels, A., Weissman, J. L., Weiss, L. C., Weir, T., Wegner, C. E., Wang, Y., Wang, S., Walsh, C. J., Wagner, M., von Meijenfeldt, F. A.B., Vierheilig, J., Vázquez-Campos, X., Valentin-Alvarado, L. E. ... Probst, Alexander J. (2025). A roadmap for equitable reuse of public microbiome data. Nature Microbiology, 10 (10), 2384-2395. doi: 10.1038/s41564-025-02116-2

A roadmap for equitable reuse of public microbiome data

2025

Journal Article

Transcriptomic response of mosquitoes to Japanese encephalitis virus and identification of its potential entry factors

Hussain, Mazhar, Etebari, Kayvan, Parry, Rhys H., Khromykh, Alexander A., Hugo, Leon E. and Asgari, Sassan (2025). Transcriptomic response of mosquitoes to Japanese encephalitis virus and identification of its potential entry factors. npj Viruses, 3 (1) 68, 68-1. doi: 10.1038/s44298-025-00151-8

Transcriptomic response of mosquitoes to Japanese encephalitis virus and identification of its potential entry factors

2025

Journal Article

A nanobody-based therapeutic targeting Nipah virus limits viral escape

Isaacs, Ariel, Nieto, Guillermo Valenzuela, Zhang, Xinghai, Modhiran, Naphak, Barr, Jennifer, Thakur, Nazia, Low, Yu Shang, Parry, Rhys H., Barnes, James B., Jara, Ronald, Himelreichs, Johanna, Yao, Yanfeng, Deride, Camila, Barthou-Gatica, Barbara, Salinas-Rebolledo, Constanza, Ehrenfeld, Pamela, Hen, Jun Jet, Hayes, Noah, Paramitha, Devina, Morgan, Mahali S., McMillan, Christopher L. D., Jones, Martina L., Munro, Trent P., Khromykh, Alexander A., Reading, Patrick C., Young, Paul R., Chappell, Keith J., Shi, Yi, Bailey, Dalan ... Watterson, Daniel (2025). A nanobody-based therapeutic targeting Nipah virus limits viral escape. Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, 32 (10), 1920-1931. doi: 10.1038/s41594-025-01598-2

A nanobody-based therapeutic targeting Nipah virus limits viral escape

2025

Journal Article

Tunicate metatranscriptomes reveal evidence of ancient co-divergence between viruses and their hosts

Petrone, Mary E., Grove, Joe, Parry, Rhys H., Van Brussel, Kate, Mifsud, Jonathon C.O., Dindar, Zuhairah, Mei, Shi-qiang, Shi, Mang, Turnbull, Olivia M.H., Marzinelli, Ezequiel M. and Holmes, Edward C. (2025). Tunicate metatranscriptomes reveal evidence of ancient co-divergence between viruses and their hosts. Current Biology, 35 (13), 3035-3047. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.05.032

Tunicate metatranscriptomes reveal evidence of ancient co-divergence between viruses and their hosts

2025

Journal Article

Twelfth scientific biennial meeting of the Australasian Virology Society: AVS12 2024

Monson, Ebony A., Loterio, Robson K., Roby, Justin A., Adhikari, Anurag, Bull, Rowena A., Carr, Jill M., Chatzileontiadou, Demetra S. M., Cheng, Colin X., Coulibaly, Fasséli, Davis, Samantha K., Deerain, Joshua M., Douglas, Mark W., Drummer, Heidi E., Eyre, Nicholas S., Freppel, Wesley, Gowripalan, Anjali, Grant, Emma J., Gras, Stephanie, Guthmiller, Jenna J., Herrero, Lara J., Hesping, Eva, Horsburgh, Bethany A., Hyde, Jennifer L., Koutsakos, Marios, Mackenzie, Jason M., Mahar, Jackie E., McCoullough, Laura C., McMillan, Christopher L. D., Modhiran, Naphak ... Tate, Michelle D. (2025). Twelfth scientific biennial meeting of the Australasian Virology Society: AVS12 2024. Journal of Virology, 99 (5), e0225524. doi: 10.1128/jvi.02255-24

Twelfth scientific biennial meeting of the Australasian Virology Society: AVS12 2024

2025

Journal Article

Discovery of additional genomic segments reveals the fluidity of jingmenvirus genomic organisation

Valle, Coralie, Parry, Rhys H., Coutard, Bruno and Colmant, Agathe M. G. (2025). Discovery of additional genomic segments reveals the fluidity of jingmenvirus genomic organisation. Virus Evolution, 11 (1) veaf023, 1-15. doi: 10.1093/ve/veaf023

Discovery of additional genomic segments reveals the fluidity of jingmenvirus genomic organisation

2025

Journal Article

The catalytic tetrad of Aedes aegypti Argonaute 2 is critical for the antiviral activity of the exogenous siRNA pathway

Dummunee, Krittika, Parry, Rhys H., Redecke, Lars, Varjak, Margus, Brennan, Benjamin, Kohl, Alain and McFarlane, Melanie (2025). The catalytic tetrad of Aedes aegypti Argonaute 2 is critical for the antiviral activity of the exogenous siRNA pathway. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 301 (4) 108332, 108332. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2025.108332

The catalytic tetrad of Aedes aegypti Argonaute 2 is critical for the antiviral activity of the exogenous siRNA pathway

2025

Journal Article

Skin patch delivery of a SARS-CoV-2 Spike DNA vaccine produces broad neutralising antibody responses

McMillan, Christopher L.D., Corner, Andrea V., Wijesundara, Danushka K., Choo, Jovin J.Y., Pittayakhajonwut, Daraporn, Poredi, Indrajeet, Parry, Rhys H., Bindra, Guneet K., Bruce, Kimberley, Khromykh, Alexander A., Fernando, Germain J.P., Dapremont, Laurent, Young, Paul R. and Muller, David A. (2025). Skin patch delivery of a SARS-CoV-2 Spike DNA vaccine produces broad neutralising antibody responses. Heliyon, 11 (4) e42533, e42533. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e42533

Skin patch delivery of a SARS-CoV-2 Spike DNA vaccine produces broad neutralising antibody responses

2025

Journal Article

The PAZ domain of Aedes aegypti Dicer 2 is critical for accurate and high-fidelity size determination of virus-derived small interfering RNAs

Reuter, Melinda, Parry, Rhys H., McDonald, Melanie, Gestuveo, Rommel J., Arif, Rozeena, Khromykh, Alexander A., Brennan, Benjamin, Varjak, Margus, Castello, Alfredo, Redecke, Lars, Schnettler, Esther and Kohl, Alain (2025). The PAZ domain of Aedes aegypti Dicer 2 is critical for accurate and high-fidelity size determination of virus-derived small interfering RNAs. RNA, 31 (5), 679-691. doi: 10.1261/rna.080149.124

The PAZ domain of Aedes aegypti Dicer 2 is critical for accurate and high-fidelity size determination of virus-derived small interfering RNAs

2025

Journal Article

Henipavirus in northern short-tailed shrew, Alabama, USA

Parry, Rhys H., Yamada, KayLene Y.H., Hood, Wendy R., Zhao, Yang, Lu, Jinlong Y., Seluanov, Andrei, Gorbunova, Vera, Modhiran, Naphak, Watterson, Daniel and Isaacs, Ariel (2025). Henipavirus in northern short-tailed shrew, Alabama, USA. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 31 (2), 392-394. doi: 10.3201/eid3102.241155

Henipavirus in northern short-tailed shrew, Alabama, USA

2025

Journal Article

Author Correction: A roadmap for equitable reuse of public microbiome data (Nature Microbiology, (2025), 10, 10, (2384-2395), 10.1038/s41564-025-02116-2)

Hug, Laura A., Hatzenpichler, Roland, Moraru, Cristina, Soares, André R., Meyer, Folker, Heyder, Anke, Zwirzitz, B., Ziels, R. M., Zhu, J., Zhang, Y., Xiu, W., Wu, M., Woyke, T., Worden, A. Z., Williams, T. A., Williams, C. L., Wichels, A., Weissman, J. L., Weiss, L. C., Weir, T., Wegner, C. E., Wang, Y., Wang, S., Walsh, C. J., Wagner, M., von Meijenfeldt, F. A.B., Vierheilig, J., Vázquez-Campos, X., Valentin-Alvarado, L. E. ... Probst, Alexander J. (2025). Author Correction: A roadmap for equitable reuse of public microbiome data (Nature Microbiology, (2025), 10, 10, (2384-2395), 10.1038/s41564-025-02116-2). Nature Microbiology. doi: 10.1038/s41564-025-02212-3

Author Correction: A roadmap for equitable reuse of public microbiome data (Nature Microbiology, (2025), 10, 10, (2384-2395), 10.1038/s41564-025-02116-2)

2024

Journal Article

The RNA interference response to alphanodavirus replication in Phlebotomus papatasi sand fly cells

Alexander, Akira J. T., Parry, Rhys H., Ratinier, Maxime, Arnaud, Frédérick and Kohl, Alain (2024). The RNA interference response to alphanodavirus replication in Phlebotomus papatasi sand fly cells. Insect Molecular Biology, 33 (6), 687-696. doi: 10.1111/imb.12932

The RNA interference response to alphanodavirus replication in Phlebotomus papatasi sand fly cells

2024

Journal Article

Dicer-2 mutations in Aedes aegypti cells lead to a diminished antiviral function against Rift Valley fever virus and Bunyamwera virus infection

Dornbusch, Susann, Reuter, Melinda, Parry, Rhys H., Stern, Michael, Becker, Stefanie C. and Schnettler, Esther (2024). Dicer-2 mutations in Aedes aegypti cells lead to a diminished antiviral function against Rift Valley fever virus and Bunyamwera virus infection. Journal of General Virology, 105 (11) 002046. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.002046

Dicer-2 mutations in Aedes aegypti cells lead to a diminished antiviral function against Rift Valley fever virus and Bunyamwera virus infection

2024

Journal Article

No evidence that mutations in SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern derive from homologous fragments in gut microbiota

Parry, Rhys H., Lytras, Spyros, Petrone, Mary E., Wille, Michelle, Crits-Christoph, Alexander, Gifford, Robert J., Saito, Akatsuki, Smura, Teemu and Peacock, Thomas P. (2024). No evidence that mutations in SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern derive from homologous fragments in gut microbiota. Journal of Virology, 98 (12), 1-2. doi: 10.1128/jvi.01468-24

No evidence that mutations in SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern derive from homologous fragments in gut microbiota

2024

Journal Article

Synthetic recovery of Yada Yada virus expands insect-specific alphavirus knowledge and facilitates production of chimeric viruses

Bell, Mikaela G., Parry, Rhys H., Lee, Tricia S. E., Habarugira, Gervais, McMahon, Isabella E., Thompson, Madeline A., Modhiran, Naphak, Watterson, Daniel, Batovska, Jana, Lynch, Stacey E., Hall, Roy A., Harrison, Jessica J. and Hobson-Peters, Jody (2024). Synthetic recovery of Yada Yada virus expands insect-specific alphavirus knowledge and facilitates production of chimeric viruses. npj Viruses, 2 (1) 45, 1-14. doi: 10.1038/s44298-024-00052-2

Synthetic recovery of Yada Yada virus expands insect-specific alphavirus knowledge and facilitates production of chimeric viruses

2024

Journal Article

Diverse RNA viruses of parasitic nematodes can elicit antibody responses in vertebrate hosts

Quek, Shannon, Hadermann, Amber, Wu, Yang, De Coninck, Lander, Hegde, Shrilakshmi, Boucher, Jordan R., Cresswell, Jessica, Foreman, Ella, Steven, Andrew, LaCourse, E. James, Ward, Stephen A., Wanji, Samuel, Hughes, Grant L., Patterson, Edward I., Wagstaff, Simon C., Turner, Joseph D., Parry, Rhys H., Kohl, Alain, Heinz, Eva, Otabil, Kenneth Bentum, Matthijnssens, Jelle, Colebunders, Robert and Taylor, Mark J. (2024). Diverse RNA viruses of parasitic nematodes can elicit antibody responses in vertebrate hosts. Nature Microbiology, 9 (10), 2488-2505. doi: 10.1038/s41564-024-01796-6

Diverse RNA viruses of parasitic nematodes can elicit antibody responses in vertebrate hosts

Current funding

  • 2025 - 2028
    Lost in translation: why flaviviruses induce cleavage of tRNAs
    NHMRC IDEAS Grants
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2025
    Broad-spectrum vaccine design for flaviviruses and henipaviruses
    NHMRC MRFF EMCR - Early to Mid-Career Researchers
    Open grant

Availability

Dr Rhys Parry is:
Available for supervision

Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.

Supervision history

Current supervision

Enquiries

Contact Dr Rhys Parry directly for media enquiries about:

  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Virology
  • Virus evolution

Need help?

For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au