Virology

Dr Brian McSharry

BSc (Hons) in Biotechnology (1998), PhD in Virology (2002), PGrad. Cert. in TLHE (2020)

Dr Brian McSharry is a molecular virologist with a specific interest in mechanisms of viral immune modulation. He graduated with a BSc in Biotechnology from the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) before pursuing a PhD in Prof Gavin Wilkinson’s lab in Cardiff University studying human cytomegalovirus infection. Following subsequent postdoctoral work at NUIG, Cardiff University and Trinity College Dublin, Brian moved to the University of Sydney in 2011 where he continued his studies into molecular mechanisms encoded by viral infections to regulate host response pathways. Brian was then recruited to take up a lecturer position in the School of Microbiology at University College Cork before returning to Australia in 2021 to undertake a lecturer in virology position at CSU.

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Brian provides research led teaching to both undergraduate and postgraduate students with a particular focus on the teaching of Microbiology and Immunology. He has also designed and delivered laboratory classes in a range of subjects. To support student learning in collaboration with colleagues he has employed novel teaching methods e.g. use of virtual reality to teach challenging concepts in molecular biology and virology.

He has successfully supervised both postgraduate and undergraduate students in molecular virology, including Honours, Masters and PhD students to completion.

To support his teaching activities Brian completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (UCC – 2020)

Brian is a molecular virologist with a specific interest in infections of DNA viruses, in particular, the herpesviruses; Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV), Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) and Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV). He has also studied the immunomodulatory activity of adenovirus infection as well as the generation and use of replication deficient adenovirus vector systems.

Brian is interested in how viruses control host response pathways with a focus on the identification of novel viral gene functions with immunoregulatory activity. In collaboration with colleagues in the UK and Australia he has studied how virus infection can control Natural Killer (NK) cell responses through regulation of NK cell ligand expression as well as direct infection of this immune effector population to control their activity.

At CSU in collaboration with Prof Jade Forwood he is studying how viral proteins can traffic to the nucleus to promote viral infection as well as regulate the host immune response.