Overview
Background
I am a molecular virologist and ARC DECRA Fellow at the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, where I am Deputy Team Leader of the Infection and Immunity theme. My research focuses on RNA virus evolution, host immunity, and RNA technologies for vaccines and therapeutics, linking four connected themes:
- Virus discovery and evolution: identifying and characterising novel viruses across diverse hosts using metatranscriptomics, phylogenetics, and comparative genomics, with particular focus on orthoflaviviruses and orthomyxoviruses
- Host–virus interactions: understanding how innate immune and RNAi pathways shape infection outcomes in mammalian and arthropod systems
- Reverse genetics: developing CPER-based systems, reporter viruses, and replicons for mechanistic virology and rapid hypothesis testing
- RNA platforms: engineering self-amplifying RNA to tune stability, expression, and immune sensing for vaccines and therapeutics
I completed my PhD (2016–2021) at UQ's School of Biological Sciences under Prof. Sassan Asgari, where I characterised the virome of Aedes mosquitoes and their interactions with the endosymbiont Wolbachia. In 2021, I joined Prof. Alexander Khromykh's RNA Virology Laboratory at SCMB. There, I contributed to the development of the SARS-CoV-2 CPER reverse-genetics system and have worked routinely with PC3 pathogens, including West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, and SARS-CoV-2. In 2026, I commenced an ARC DECRA Fellowship to investigate how modified nucleotides shape RNA structure, immune sensing, and function in next-generation RNA technologies. My current work is funded by the ARC and NHMRC.
I provide bioinformatics and phylogenetics support within UQ and internationally, and welcome collaborations involving small RNA analysis, virus discovery and metatranscriptomics.
I served on the organising committee of MicroSeq (2023–2025), an Australasian conference promoting microbial sequencing research by early-career researchers. I am the Communications Officer for ASM Queensland (2024–) and an incoming Committee of Management member for the Australasian Virology Society (2026–).
Availability
- Dr Rhys Parry is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
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
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Development of self-replicating RNA vaccines and therapeutics.
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Flavivirus evolution and diversity.
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Interferon-antagonistic activities of amino acid residues in the West Nile virus capsid protein identified by deep mutational scanning.
Research impacts
My research contributes to vaccine development, public health preparedness, and the translation of RNA technologies into clinical applications.
Reverse genetics platform with global adoption. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I helped develop the circular polymerase extension reaction (CPER), a reverse-genetics system enabling rapid recovery of RNA viruses. CPER has since been adopted by 16 research groups across 8 countries and used to recover over 25 RNA viruses spanning 7 viral families, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza, dengue, and respiratory syncytial virus, and is used routinely to generate vaccine candidates for human and veterinary applications.
Virus discovery and pandemic preparedness
- Discovered and characterised over 35 novel viruses and contributed to collaborative efforts identifying approximately 300 more, including parahenipaviruses, flaviviruses, and influenza-like viruses, across diverse hosts—work that advances understanding of viral emergence and zoonotic risk
- Applied phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses to inform vaccine antigen design for flaviviruses and henipaviruses (MRFF EMCR Grant 2022–2025)
Public engagement and combating misinformation
- Provide expert commentary on virology and emerging infectious diseases to media and fact-checking organisations, including the Australian Associated Press and Health Feedback (Meta)
Works
Search Professor Rhys Parry’s works on UQ eSpace
2022
Journal Article
Evaluation of prognostic risk models for postoperative pulmonary complications in adult patients undergoing major abdominal surgery: a systematic review and international external validation cohort study
Kouli, O., Murray, V., Bhatia, S., Cambridge, W. A., Kawka, M., Shafi, S., Knight, S. R., Kamarajah, S. K., McLean, K. A., Glasbey, J. C., Khaw, R. A., Ahmed, W., Akhbari, M., Baker, D., Borakati, A., Mills, E., Thavayogan, R., Yasin, I., Raubenheimer, K., Ridley, W., Sarrami, M., Zhang, G., Egoroff, N., Pockney, P., Richards, T., Bhangu, A., Creagh-Brown, B., Edwards, M., Harrison, E. M. ... Wischhusen, S. (2022). Evaluation of prognostic risk models for postoperative pulmonary complications in adult patients undergoing major abdominal surgery: a systematic review and international external validation cohort study. The Lancet Digital Health, 4 (7), e520-e531. doi: 10.1016/S2589-7500(22)00069-3
2022
Journal Article
Structural analysis of 3’UTRs in insect flaviviruses reveals novel determinants of sfRNA biogenesis and provides new insights into flavivirus evolution
Slonchak, Andrii, Parry, Rhys, Pullinger, Brody, Sng, Julian D. J., Wang, Xiaohui, Buck, Teresa F., Torres, Francisco J., Harrison, Jessica J., Colmant, Agathe M. G., Hobson-Peters, Jody, Hall, Roy A., Tuplin, Andrew and Khromykh, Alexander A. (2022). Structural analysis of 3’UTRs in insect flaviviruses reveals novel determinants of sfRNA biogenesis and provides new insights into flavivirus evolution. Nature Communications, 13 (1) 1279, 1-16. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28977-3
2022
Journal Article
Mutational analysis of Aedes aegypti Dicer 2 provides insights into the biogenesis of antiviral exogenous small interfering RNAs
Gestuveo, Rommel J., Parry, Rhys, Dickson, Laura B., Lequime, Sebastian, Sreenu, Vattipally B., Arnold, Matthew J., Khromykh, Alexander A., Schnettler, Esther, Lambrechts, Louis, Varjak, Margus and Kohl, Alain (2022). Mutational analysis of Aedes aegypti Dicer 2 provides insights into the biogenesis of antiviral exogenous small interfering RNAs. PLOS Pathogens, 18 (1) e1010202, 1-29. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010202
2021
Journal Article
Persistent Spodoptera frugiperda rhabdovirus infection in Sf9 cells is not restricted by Wolbachia wMelPop-CLA and wAlbB strains and is targeted by the RNAi machinery
Parry, Rhys, de Malmanche, Henry and Asgari, Sassan (2021). Persistent Spodoptera frugiperda rhabdovirus infection in Sf9 cells is not restricted by Wolbachia wMelPop-CLA and wAlbB strains and is targeted by the RNAi machinery. Virology, 563, 82-87. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2021.08.013
2021
Other Outputs
Endosymbionts and viromes: interplays between Wolbachia pipientis and the virome of Aedes mosquitoes
Parry, Rhys (2021). Endosymbionts and viromes: interplays between Wolbachia pipientis and the virome of Aedes mosquitoes. PhD Thesis, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/abcdf38
2021
Journal Article
Uncovering the worldwide diversity and evolution of the virome of the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus
Parry, Rhys, James, Maddie E. and Asgari, Sassan (2021). Uncovering the worldwide diversity and evolution of the virome of the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Microorganisms, 9 (8) 1653, 1653. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9081653
2021
Journal Article
No evidence of SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription and integration as the origin of chimeric transcripts in patient tissues
Parry, Rhys, Gifford, Robert J., Lytras, Spyros, Ray, Stuart C. and Coin, Lachlan J. M. (2021). No evidence of SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription and integration as the origin of chimeric transcripts in patient tissues. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118 (33) e2109066118, e2109066118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2109066118
2021
Journal Article
A 1958 isolate of Kedougou Virus (KEDV) from Ndumu, South Africa, expands the geographic and temporal range of KEDV in Africa
Jansen van Vuren, Petrus , Parry, Rhys, Khromykh, Alexander A. and Paweska, Janusz T. (2021). A 1958 isolate of Kedougou Virus (KEDV) from Ndumu, South Africa, expands the geographic and temporal range of KEDV in Africa. Viruses, 13 (7) 1368, 1368. doi: 10.3390/v13071368
2021
Journal Article
Human blood microRNA hsa-miR-21-5p induces vitellogenin in the mosquito Aedes aegypti
Perdomo, Hugo D., Hussain, Mazhar, Parry, Rhys, Etebari, Kayvan, Hedges, Lauren M., Zhang, Guangmei, Schulz, Benjamin L. and Asgari, Sassan (2021). Human blood microRNA hsa-miR-21-5p induces vitellogenin in the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Communications Biology, 4 (1) 856, 856. doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-02385-7
2021
Journal Article
A versatile reverse genetics platform for SARS-CoV-2 and other positive-strand RNA viruses
Amarilla, Alberto A., Sng, Julian D. J., Parry, Rhys, Deerain, Joshua M., Potter, James R., Setoh, Yin Xiang, Rawle, Daniel J., Le, Thuy T., Modhiran, Naphak, Wang, Xiaohui, Peng, Nias Y. G., Torres, Francisco J., Pyke, Alyssa, Harrison, Jessica J., Freney, Morgan E., Liang, Benjamin, McMillan, Christopher L. D., Cheung, Stacey T. M., Da Costa Guevara, Darwin J., Hardy, Joshua M., Bettington, Mark, Muller, David A., Coulibaly, Fasséli, Moore, Frederick, Hall, Roy A., Young, Paul R., Mackenzie, Jason M., Hobson-Peters, Jody, Suhrbier, Andreas ... Khromykh, Alexander A. (2021). A versatile reverse genetics platform for SARS-CoV-2 and other positive-strand RNA viruses. Nature Communications, 12 (1) 3431, 3431. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23779-5
2020
Journal Article
Transcription profile and genomic variation of Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV) in Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle
Etebari, Kayvan, Parry, Rhys, Beltran, Marie Joy B. and Furlong, Michael J. (2020). Transcription profile and genomic variation of Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV) in Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle. Journal of Virology, 94 (22) e01097-20, 1-18. doi: 10.1128/jvi.01097-20
2020
Journal Article
Sequencing of historical isolates, k‐mer mining and high serological cross‐reactivity with Ross River virus argue against the presence of Getah virus in Australia
Rawle, Daniel J., Nguyen, Wilson, Dumenil, Troy, Parry, Rhys, Warrilow, David, Tang, Bing, Le, Thuy T., Slonchak, Andrii, Khromykh, Alexander A., Lutzky, Viviana P., Yan, Kexin and Suhrbier, Andreas (2020). Sequencing of historical isolates, k‐mer mining and high serological cross‐reactivity with Ross River virus argue against the presence of Getah virus in Australia. Pathogens, 9 (10) 848, 1-17. doi: 10.3390/pathogens9100848
2020
Journal Article
Divergent influenza-like viruses of amphibians and fish support an ancient evolutionary association
Parry, Rhys, Wille, Michelle, Turnbull, Olivia M. H., Geoghegan, Jemma L. and Holmes, Edward C. (2020). Divergent influenza-like viruses of amphibians and fish support an ancient evolutionary association. Viruses, 12 (9) 1042, 1042. doi: 10.3390/v12091042
2020
Journal Article
Viral CpG deficiency provides no evidence that dogs were intermediate hosts for SARS-CoV-2
Pollock, David D., Castoe, Todd A., Perry, Blair W., Lytras, Spyros, Wade, Kristen J., Robertson, David L., Holmes, Edward C., Boni, Maciej F., Kosakovsky Pond, Sergei L., Parry, Rhys, Carlton, Elizabeth J., Wood, James L. N., Pennings, Pleuni S. and Goldstein, Richard A. (2020). Viral CpG deficiency provides no evidence that dogs were intermediate hosts for SARS-CoV-2. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 37 (9), 2706-2710. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msaa178
2020
Journal Article
Identification and RNAi profile of a novel iflavirus infecting Senegalese Aedes vexans arabiensis mosquitoes
Parry, Rhys, Naccache, Fanny, Ndiaye, El Hadji, Fall, Gamou, Castelli, Ilaria, Lühken, Renke, Medlock, Jolyon, Cull, Benjamin, Hesson, Jenny C., Montarsi, Fabrizio, Failloux, Anna-Bella, Kohl, Alain, Schnettler, Esther, Diallo, Mawlouth, Asgari, Sassan, Dietrich, Isabelle and Becker, Stefanie C. (2020). Identification and RNAi profile of a novel iflavirus infecting Senegalese Aedes vexans arabiensis mosquitoes. Viruses, 12 (4) 440, 440. doi: 10.3390/v12040440
2020
Journal Article
Wolbachia endosymbiont of the horn fly Haematobia irritans irritans: a supergroup A strain with multiple horizontally acquired cytoplasmic incompatibility genes
Madhav, Mukund, Parry, Rhys, Morgan, Jess A. T., James, Peter and Asgari, Sassan (2020). Wolbachia endosymbiont of the horn fly Haematobia irritans irritans: a supergroup A strain with multiple horizontally acquired cytoplasmic incompatibility genes. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 86 (6) e02589. doi: 10.1128/aem.02589-19
2019
Journal Article
Effect of Wolbachia wAlbB on a positive-sense RNA negev-like virus: a novel virus persistently infecting Aedes albopictus mosquitoes and cells
Bishop, Cameron, Parry, Rhys and Asgari, Sassan (2019). Effect of Wolbachia wAlbB on a positive-sense RNA negev-like virus: a novel virus persistently infecting Aedes albopictus mosquitoes and cells. Journal of General Virology, 101 (2) 001361, 216-225. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001361
2019
Journal Article
Discovery of novel crustacean and cephalopod flaviviruses: insights into evolution and circulation of flaviviruses between marine invertebrate and vertebrate hosts
Parry, Rhys and Asgari, Sassan (2019). Discovery of novel crustacean and cephalopod flaviviruses: insights into evolution and circulation of flaviviruses between marine invertebrate and vertebrate hosts. Journal of Virology, 93 (14) e00432. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00432-19
2019
Journal Article
Density-dependent enhanced replication of a densovirus in Wolbachia-infected Aedes cells is associated with production of piRNAs and higher virus-derived siRNAs
Parry, Rhys, Bishop, Cameron, De Hayr, Lachlan and Asgari, Sassan (2019). Density-dependent enhanced replication of a densovirus in Wolbachia-infected Aedes cells is associated with production of piRNAs and higher virus-derived siRNAs. Virology, 528, 89-100. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2018.12.006
2018
Journal Article
Aedes Anphevirus: an insect-specific virus distributed worldwide in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that has complex interplays with Wolbachia and dengue virus infection in cells
Parry, Rhys and Asgari, Sassan (2018). Aedes Anphevirus: an insect-specific virus distributed worldwide in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that has complex interplays with Wolbachia and dengue virus infection in cells. Journal of Virology, 92 (17) e00224-18, JVI.00224-18. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00224-18
Supervision
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
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Doctor Philosophy
Survey of farmers¿ perceptions of gastrointestinal parasites and investigation of prevalence, impact, and control of these parasites on sub-tropical dairy cattle
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ben Wood, Professor Ricardo Soares Magalhaes, Dr Shahab Ranjbar Nezhad Isfahani, Dr Swaid Abdullah
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Doctor Philosophy
Predicting and preparing for the unfolding evolution of SARS-CoV-2
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Helen Mostafavi, Professor Alexander Khromykh
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Rhys Parry directly for media enquiries about:
- SARS-CoV-2
- Virology
- Virus evolution
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