Dr. Dennis J. O’Callaghan, Boyd Professor and Head of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Willis-Knighton Chair of Molecular Biology, serves as the Director and Principal Investigator of the COBRE Center for Molecular and Tumor Virology. This Center was established in October 2003 and is funded by a grant from the National Institute of Health. He has served as Professor and Head of the Department since 1984. In Dr. O’Callaghan’s tenure as Head, the Department has grown to a faculty of 18 full-time members with extramural research grants that total to $24+ million. Funding from the COBRE award and the Tumor Virology Program of the LSUHSC Feist-Weiller Cancer Center will allow the recruitment of additional faculty members working in tumor and molecular virology.

Dr. O’Callaghan holds the first Endowed Chair established on this campus and is the Willis-Knighton Chair of Molecular Biology. In 2001, Dr. O’Callaghan was selected as the 63rd Boyd Professor of the LSU System, the highest academic honor in the LSU System. In 2002, he was elected as a Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a member of numerous honorary and selective scientific societies and has served in leadership positions for several of them. Dr. O’Callaghan is an internationally respected molecular virologist who recently served as the President of the American Society for Virology, a society of 3,000+ virologists in 55+ countries. He has served, and continues to serve, on numerous national panels (e.g. National Board of Medical Examiners), study sections (NIH, USDA, American Heart, etc.), and editorial boards (e.g. Virology, Virus Research, Journal of Virology, and Recent Research Development in Virology). He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Regional Center of Excellence in Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Dr. O’Callaghan’s research on herpesvirus molecular biology and persistent infection has been funded by NIH since he was an Assistant Professor. In addition to continuous funding from NIH, Dr. O’Callaghan’s laboratory has been funded over the years by grants from the National Science Foundation, several grants from the United States Department of Agriculture (Biotechnology Program; Animal Health and Pathogen Programs), the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and the Vaccine Development Program of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica. His research addresses fundamental questions about herpesvirus gene expression and gene programming and the use of recombinant viruses to understand herpesvirus pathogenesis.

On the LSUHSC Shreveport, Louisiana campus, Dr. O’Callaghan serves in many leadership positions. He is Head of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, a major academic component of both the Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies, and is a member of the Research Council that oversees all research matters on the campus, the Graduate Faculty Council, and the Board of Directors of the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center. Dr. O’Callaghan has trained more than 30 young scientists who have gone on to hold leadership positions as Department Heads, Deans of Research, Division Heads, and senior tenured faculty members at medical centers, universities, federal agencies, and biotechnology companies.