Sean Whelan (scientist)

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Professor
Sean P.J. Whelan
Ph.D.
Sean Whelan at his desk
Sean Whelan in 2019
Born1967
Leeds, England
CitizenshipUS and UK
Alma materUniversity of Birmingham, England
Scientific career
InstitutionsHarvard Medical School
Washington University in St. Louis
Thesis Alteration of the Cellular Binding Characteristics of Poliovirus  (1993)
Doctoral advisorJeffrey Almond, University of Reading
Other academic advisorsGail Wertz, University of Alabama
Websitehttp://www.whelan-lab.org/

Sean Whelan is a British-American virologist. He is known for identifying the cellular protein used as a receptor by

National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals.[9][10]

Education

Whelan received a First Class Honors degree in Microbiology and Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham. He performed his PhD work with noted virologist Jeffrey Almond, then at the University of Reading.

Career

Whelan joined Harvard Medical School's Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics in 2002. He was promoted to Professor of Microbiology and Immunobiology in 2012. He served as head of Harvard's PhD Program in Virology,[11] and directed an NIH-funded Center for Excellence in Translational Research.[12] In July 2019, Washington University in St. Louis announced that Whelan had been named Chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and the Marvin A. Brennecke Distinguished Professor of Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine.[13]

Whelan's research focuses on using

pseudotypes, which carry the envelope proteins of other viruses, are useful tools for studying the behavior of pathogenic viruses.[16] Whelan has used this approach to study the entry process of Ebola,[17] to identify the cellular protein the virus uses as a receptor,[1][2][3] and to study how the rabies virus infects neurons.[4]

Whelan also studies the

cryo-EM to determine the structure of the L protein of VSV,[19] revealing several potential drug targets.[18]

Advocacy

As a founding member of the group "Scientists for Science",[20] Whelan has argued that research into infectious pathogens is "essential for a comprehensive understanding of microbial disease pathogenesis, prevention and treatment", and that further regulation of work on dangerous pathogens should only be considered in the context of "input from outside experts with the background and skills to conduct actual risk assessments based on specific experiments and existing laboratories".[21]

Awards

  • 2005 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease[22]
  • 2010 Genzyme Young Innovator Award
  • 2011
    Hoffmann-La Roche
    Investigator in Molecular Virology
  • 2013
    American Academy of Microbiology
    Fellow
  • 2015
    NIH MERIT award
  • 2020
    NOGLSTP LGBTQ+ Scientist of the Year.[9]

References

  1. ^
    PMID 21866103
    .
  2. ^ a b "Scientists find weakness in deadly Ebola virus". Reuters. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Attacking Ebola". Harvard Gazette. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  4. ^
    PMID 27463226
    .
  5. ^ a b c "Ribosome regulates viral protein synthesis, revealing potential therapeutic target". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  6. ^
    PMID 23169626
    .
  7. ^ "Whelan named head of molecular microbiology". Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Sean Whelan to be head of the Department of Molecular Microbiology | Office of Neuroscience Research | Washington University in St. Louis". neuroscienceresearch.wustl.edu. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  9. ^ a b "2020-02-16: NOGLSTSP Recognizes Brownell, Dell, and Whelan as LGBTQ+ Educator, Engineer, and Scientist of the Year for 2020 and Queer Science as Organization of the Year – NOGLSTP". Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  10. ^ "Whelan named LGBTQ+ scientist of the year". Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Program in Virology". www.hms.harvard.edu. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  12. ^ "Centers of Excellence for Translational Research (CETR) Locations | NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases". www.niaid.nih.gov. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  13. ^ "Whelan named head of molecular microbiology". Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  14. PMID 7667300
    .
  15. ^ US Patent 5789229, G.W. Wertz, Q. Yu, A. Ball, J.N. Barr, and S.P.J. Whelan, "Gene Therapy Vectors and Vaccines Based on Non-segmented Negative-Stranded RNA Viruses", issued 1998-1-1 
  16. PMID 20709108
    .
  17. PMID 15831716
    .
  18. ^ a b "The Future of Molecular Visualization | Harvard Medical School". hms.harvard.edu. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  19. PMID 26144317
    .
  20. ^ "Scientists for Science". www.scientistsforscience.org. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  21. ^ Roos, Robert (30 July 2014). "Scientists voice support for research on dangerous pathogens". CIDRAP. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  22. ^ "Grant Recipients 2002-2005 | Burroughs Wellcome Fund". www.bwfund.org. Retrieved 17 February 2020.

External links

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