Dr. Matthew McCallum has joined the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine as an Assistant Professor.
Dr. McCallum brings internationally recognized expertise in structural biology, virology, and computational protein design, expanding LMP’s strengths in translational virology and molecular pathobiology.
He completed his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Lynne Howell and Dr. Lori Burrows, where he defined the molecular mechanisms of bacterial type IV pilus motors (ATPase molecular machines) that enable motility, adhesion, and surface sensing using crystallography and cryoEM.
He joins us from the University of Washington, where he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Acting Instructor in the laboratory of Dr. David Veesler.
There, he developed an independent research program leveraging computational protein design and cryo-electron microscopy to address fundamental questions in viral entry and immune evasion, with direct implications for vaccine and development of therapeutics.
His work has contributed to high-impact discoveries on coronavirus and emerging viral pathogens, including structural studies that define mechanisms of immune escape and receptor engagement.
Dr. McCallum’s laboratory at LMP will sit at the interface of computational design and cryoEM, with a focus on structure-guided vaccine and drug development against herpesviruses and other related pathogens.
He is particularly interested in stabilizing viral glycoproteins in vulnerable conformations and defining mechanisms of viral entry at high resolution. By capturing and engineering these transient states, his aim is to enable next-generation vaccines and antivirals that prevent acute infection and reduce the long-term burden of chronic viral disease.
He is enthusiastic about building collaborations across Temerty Medicine in structural biology, clinical virology, immunology, and therapeutic development.
Dr. McCallum will be recruiting graduate students and research staff, and he looks forward to contributing to graduate and medical education in computational design, structural biology, and molecular virology.
He is passionate about mentoring trainees interested in bridging fundamental mechanisms with translational impact.
Please join us in welcoming Matthew to the LMP community!
