In your opinion, what have been the most noteworthy advances in the field of microbiology research in the past 15 years? Looking forward, what do you expect to be the most exciting advances in the next few years?

I would include:

• Approval of curative, highly effective and well tolerated treatments for hepatitis C
• Discovery of the HBV receptor NTCP
• The expanding virosphere revealed by NGS
• CRISPR—biology and myriad applications
• Discovery of the DNA PRR (cGAS), its MOA (cGAMP/STING) and the importance of this pathway in pathogen immunity, vaccine responses, autoimmunity and cancer

Do you have a favourite article that was published in Nature Reviews Microbiology, and if so, can you tell us why?

I’m not sure I have a favorite NRM piece (except that I wish I had more time to read them...). That said, I think NRM has done extremely well in selecting timely topics and corralling expert authors. The reviews are up to date, with sharp graphics, and allow one to get up to speed in specific areas before diving into the primary literature.

Read the Reviews by Charles M. Rice and colleagues here:

The ins and outs of hepatitis C virus entry and assembly
Brett D. Lindenbach & Charles M. Rice
Nature Reviews Microbiology  11, 688–700 (2013)

Replication of hepatitis C virus
Darius Moradpour, François Penin & Charles M. Rice
Nature Reviews Microbiology 5, 453–463 (2007)