Michael A. Skinner

PhD

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/m.skinner

A microbiology graduate with a PhD in bacterial genetics, Mike’s career in virology began with postdocs on: coronaviruses (in the pre-SARS era; with Prof Stuart Siddell, Würzburg, Germany), poliovirus (RNA structure and neurovirulence; with Prof Jeffrey Almond, Leicester then Reading) and HIV (tat/TAR interactions; MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge). He became a PI at the Institute for Animal Health (IAH; Houghton then Compton) where he led research into avian poxviruses but also defined the genome sequences of two emergent viral pathogens of poultry that became panzootic and are still of considerable global economic significance, especially in SE Asia, namely avian leukosis retrovirus (subgroup J; prototypic strain HPRS-103) and 'very virulent' infectious bursal disease birnavirus (IBDV; prototypic strain UK661). His current, BBSRC-funded research interests are virus-host interactions, specifically innate anti-viral responses and virus immunomodulation, and vaccines. He joined Imperial College London in 2005 and was promoted to Reader in 2014.