• 1/10/2010 Professor of Virology, University of Birmingham
• 1/8/2005 Reader in Tumour Virology, University of Birmingham
• 2005-2005 Reader in Virology, Institute of Virology, University of Glasgow
• 2003-2005 Senior lecturer in Virology, Institute of Virology, University of Glasgow
• 1999-2003 Lecturer in Virology, Institute of Virology, University of Glasgow
• 1997-1999 Staff Scientist Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
• 1993-1997 Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Laboratory of Jay A. Levy, M.D., Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
• 1990-1992 Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Laboratory of Ronald Chuang, PhD., Department of Medical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of California, Davis

Teaching Programmes

• BMedSci 3 

Teaching Activity

University of Birmingham (2005-ongoing)

• BMedSci Molecular Virology and Oncology course (1-2 lectures, as required)
• BMedSci Clinical Science (1 lecture)
• MSc Clinical Oncology (2 lectures)
• MSc Immunity to Infection (1 lecture)
• MSc Immunology project student supervisor
• MBChB Cancer: Causes to Cure SGT module leader & lecturer (Viruses & Cancer), tutor 
• MBChB SSA Viruses & Cancer
• MBChB Mentor (PM33).
  

University of Oxford (2009-ongoing)

• MSc Infection and Immunity: invited lecturer (course coordinator Prof. Helen Chapel).

RESEARCH THEMES
Viral Oncology

RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Viral immune modulation and pathogenesis.

Infectious agents, including viruses, are associated with up to 20% of human cancers. The Blackbourn laboratory studies two such viruses: Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV or MCPyV). Our major interest is in how viruses cause disease and modulate the immune response. KSHV provides a model for most of our studies, but the impact of our work could extend to other viruses or host/pathogen interactions. Our main research topics in this context are: (i) how KSHV modulates the type I interferon (alpha & beta) response. (ii) How KSHV deregulates antigen-specifc T cell responses. (iii) The role of complement in virus biology. (iv) What are the consequences of KSHV infection on endothelial cell biology, including cell-cell interactions and regulating leukocyte recruitment.

For MCV, our interests lie in establishing whether this virus is the cause of Merkel cell carcinoma.

• Director of Postgraduate Studies, School of Cancer Sciences
• Chair, University of Birmingham Executive Advisory Group for the Control of Biological Hazards
• General Secretary, Society for General Microbiology
• Editor, Journal of General Virology
• Royal Society Scientific Unions Committee: International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) representative
• Federation of Experimental Microbiological Societies (FEMS): Council member
• Virology Division Council Representative, Society for General Microbiology

Jackson, B.R., J.R. Boyne, M. Noerenberg, A.Taylor, R. Wheat, D.J. Blackbourn, S.A. Wilson, A. Whitehouse. An interaction between KSHV ORF57 and UIF provides mRNA-adaptor redundancy in herpesvirus intronless mRNA export. Manuscript submitted. 

Butler L.M., H.C. Jeffery, R.L. Wheat, K.R. Alkharsah, T.F. Schulz, G.B. Nash and D.J. Blackbourn. KSHV inhibits neutrophil recruitment through an IL-6 dependent mechanism – a new paradigm for viral immune evasion. Manuscript submitted. 

Taylor, G.S. and D.J. Blackbourn. Immunomodulation by infectious agents in human cancers: Lessons from gammaherpesviruses EBV and KSHV. Cancer Letters. In press. 

Durrington, H.J., P.D. Upton, S. Hoer, J. Boname, B. Dunmore, J. Yang, T.K. Crilley, L.M. Butler, D.J. Blackbourn, G.B. Nash, P.J. Lehner, N.W. Morrell. Identification of a lysosomal pathway regulating degradation of the bone morphogenetic protein receptor type-II. J. Biol. Chem. 285: 37641-49, 2010. 

Aresté, C., M. Mutocheluh, M. and D.J. Blackbourn. Identification of Caspase-mediated Decay of Interferon Regulatory Factor-3, Exploited by a Kaposi Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus Immunoregulatory Protein. J. Biol. Chem. 284: 23272-85, 2009. This paper was recommended by Faculty of Biology 1000 (‘F1000 Recommended’). 

Wang, L., M. Pietrek, M. Brinkmann, A. Hävemeier, I. Fischer, B. Hillenbrand, O. Dittrich-Breiholz, M. Kracht , S. Chanas, D.J. Blackbourn and T.F. Schulz. Identification and functional characterization of a spliced Rhesus Rhadinovirus gene with homology to the K15 gene of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus. J. Gen. Virol. 90:1190-1201, 2009. 

Okroj, M., L. Mark, A. Stokowska, S.W. Wong, D.J. Blackbourn, O.B. Spiller, A. Blom. Characterization of the complement inhibitory function of Rhesus Rhadinovirus complement control protein (RCP). J. Biol. Chem. 284:505-514, 2009. 

Mark, L., D.G. Proctor, D.J. Blackbourn, A.M. Blom, O.B. Spiller. Separation of decay-accelerating and cofactor functional activities of KSHV complement control protein (KCP) using monoclonal antibodies. Immunology. 123:228-38, 2008.