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The University of Oxford has recently awarded Prof Stephen Cusack the honorary title of Visiting Professor of Structural Biology, in affiliation with the Dunn School. Currently an Emeritus Senior Scientist at EMBL Grenoble in France, Prof Cusack is universally recognised for his structural work investigating protein-RNA complexes in viral replication, gene expression and innate immunity.

Having studied physics and theoretical physics during his undergraduate degree at the University of Cambridge, Stephen Cusack obtained his PhD in theoretical solid-state physics at Imperial College, London. His postdoc at the EMBL Grenoble marked his switch to molecular biology, with his work focusing on understanding virus structure using neutron scattering. Expanding on his structural work with X-ray crystallography and subsequently cryo-electron microscopy, he established his own research group and was Head of EMBL Grenoble from 1989-2022. The work in his lab examines the structures of protein-RNA systems in gene expression, viral replication and innate immunity, with some of the most notable projects concentrating on aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, the RIG-I receptor and viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases. He currently focuses on structural and mechanistic studies of the influenza virus polymerase.

Additionally, Prof Cusack co-founded Savira Pharmaceuticals for the development of anti-influenza drugs, and has collaborated with a number of pharmaceutical companies working on antiviral, antibacterial or anti-inflammatory compounds. He played a major role in the development of the world-leading facilities for X-ray crystallography at the ESRF and was one of the co-founders of the Instruct-ERIC project, which focuses on broadening access to structural biology technologies and techniques around Europe. His contributions to expanding our knowledge of structural biology, as well as his role in the advancement of the necessary infrastructure, were in 2015 recognised by election to the Fellowship of the Royal Society. He is also a member of EMBO since 1998, and a former holder of a European Research Council Advanced Award.

Stephen Cusack joins the ranks of Roger Highfield, Visiting Professor in Public Engagement, and Maria Leptin, Visiting Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, both of whom are also affiliated with the Dunn School. Reflecting on his new association with the Dunn School, Stephen Cusack said: “With its focus on molecular mechanisms underlying human health and disease, the Dunn School perfectly matches my scientific interests. In my visits there, I look forward to benefitting from the rich intellectual environment of Oxford, continuing ongoing collaborations and developing new ones”.

Written by Aleksandra Pluta (Murphy lab)