Jochen Wettengel

Jochen Wettengel is a Senior Professor at Oregon Health & Science University. His research focuses on medical virology, with specific interests in hepatitis B virus (HBV) pathogenesis, viral diagnostics, and immunology. His recent work has characterized HBV receptor function through NTCP orthologs, demonstrated that viral DNA integration occurs within three days of infection and is enhanced by ATR inhibition, and developed a novel digital droplet inverse PCR assay linking natural HBV clearance to fewer viral integrations. He also pioneered liver-specific transgenic expression of human NTCP in rhesus macaques, conferring HBV susceptibility on primary hepatocytes. His latest publication (2026) in Frontiers in Immunology describes a therapeutic HBV vaccine employing a DNA prime–MVA boost scheme requiring additional recombinant HBsAg priming for adequate antibody responses. He has also developed multiplex PCR assays for herpesviruses in cerebrospinal fluid, contributing to viral diagnostics.