Research Interests: Medical Microbiology, Immunology, host-microbe, Asthma, UTIs, Gut and Lung Microbiome , COVID-19, Rapid testing, Antibody typing

Dr John MacSharry graduated with a B.Sc. in Microbiology and a Ph.D. in Mucosal Immunology from University College Cork. He worked with Alimentary Health Ltd as Molecular Biology section head collaborating with several multinational research partners. In 2008 he joined the APC Host Response core as a Post-Doctoral researcher and collaborated on Industrial research with GlaxoSmithKline. John was a guest researcher at the Meakins Christie Laboratories, McGill University in Montreal, Canada as part of an SFI Travel fellowship in 2009 and 2010. John has also lectured and supervised part-time in the CIT. His research interests are in host-microbe interactions with particular focus on the immune sampling and response in the gut and the lungs with focus on disrtupted microbiomes in disease states. John has also lead several COVID-19 projects involved with rapid testing and antibody typing ( Saliva RT-PCR, Antigen Testing, Wastewater sampling and Antibody typing). John has advised Government and Health services on Research and COVID-19. John was appointed, 2013, as a Lecturer in Molecular Microbiology and Deputy director of the GEM programme with the School of Medicine with an affiliation to the School of Microbiology. In 2024 , John was appointed Senior Lecturer in Immunology and Virology at the School of Microbiology UCC.

Please see: ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9528-6261

Google Scholar:  https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=9rMiPTgAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hPuNmE8AAAAJ&hl=enI am interested in the role mucosal immune sampling plays in systemic immune processes, with particular focus on the areas of host commensal/pathogen interactions. My main areas of scientific interest is in the interactions of the microbes with human host and the engagement with the immune system with particular interest in the interactions of commensal and pathogenic microbes with the mucosal immune system of both the gut and lung. I have studied the areas of bacterial sampling via M cells in the intestine have also worked on the role of probiotic commensals in various in vitro and animal models of inflammation and immune disease. I have also performed human biopsy studies to determine and differentiate the gene expression and cytokine signature of IBD and IBS patients. Aas Post Doctoral Scientist in the APC I developed a model of mucosal dendritic cells and we deciphered the unique mRNA and miRNA expression profiles of these cells using microarray and bioinformatic methods. In collaboration with GSK we studied drug mechanisms of action using gene expression, protein, flow cytometric, CHiP and microscopy techniques.Through collaboration with Prof James G. Martin, in Montreal, Canada, and Dr Des Murphy in CUH I have developed an interest in Asthma and the role of bacterial feeding on lung immunology and also the study of the microbial ecology of the lung. More recently with Prof Michael Prentice, at UCC, I am investigating microcompartment operon gene expression in clinical infections. I would like to bring these skill sets together to study role of the immune system in disease linking the mucosal and systemic immune system to understand the tolerance to antigen load at the mucosal barrier a

Since 2013 I have been lecturing in Medical Microbiology to Graduate Entry Medicine students and also teach Mucosal Immunology to Final year Microbiology students. I also coordinate and teach supplementary USMLE Teaching for Medical Students intending to sit the USMLE Step1 licensing exams. I have throughout my Research career taught colleagues and students in the Laboratory on the skills I have gained as my career progressed. I still maintain active hands on laboratory work and enjoy, analysing and understanding Research data and learning new techniques! I am currently a Student in the UCC Teaching and Learning diploma which I thoroughly enjoy. I aim to use these new Teaching skills to enhance both my Class and Laboratory Teaching. Medical Microbiology Mucosal Immunology UCC Modules Contributed to: Undergraduate: MB4002: 4th Year Microbiology Research Project MB4027: Research Frontiers in Microbiology MB4009: Current Advances in Immunology MB3016: Microbiology 3rd Year Literature Project Postgraduate:Graduate Entry to Medicine: GM1001: Fundamentals of Medicine IGM1002: Fundamentals of Medicine IIGM1003: Fundamentals of Medicine IIIGM2001: Fundamentals of Medicine IV School of Medicine USMLE Supplementary Tutorials