Rate My Professor Brian Poole

Brian Poole is a Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Biology and Associate Chair in the Biology department at Brigham Young University. He earned a B.S. in Microbiology from Brigham Young University in 1999, a Ph.D. in Immunology and Virology from Pennsylvania State University in 2004, and completed his postdoctoral training at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation from 2004 to 2008. Poole joined the faculty at Brigham Young University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology in 2008, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2014, and became a full Professor in 2022. He assumed the role of Associate Chair in 2025.

Poole's primary research interests lie in autoimmune diseases, with a focus on systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), examining the interplay between genetic predispositions and environmental factors such as Epstein-Barr virus infection. His work seeks to uncover mechanisms that lead to autoimmunity and identify early biomarkers for intervention. In recent years, he has also investigated vaccine hesitancy, particularly attitudes toward HPV vaccination in various populations including Hispanic immigrants, religious communities, and rural areas. Notable publications include "Intervention Strategies to Overcome HPV Vaccine Hesitancy Among Hispanic Immigrants in the USA: A Video-Based Approach" (Vaccines, 2025, co-authored with Aduse-Poku et al.), "Effects of religious and cultural beliefs on vaccine attitudes in a Hispanic immigrant population in the United States" (PLOS Global Public Health, 2024), "Turkey B Cell Transcriptome Profile During Turkey Hemorrhagic Enteritis Virus (THEV) Infection" (Viruses, 2025), and key contributions to lupus research such as "Four promoters of IRF5 respond distinctly to stimuli and are affected by autoimmune-risk polymorphisms" (Frontiers in Immunology, 2013). Among his awards are the Distinguished HPV Cancer Prevention Investigator from the Mountain West HPV Vaccination Coalition (2023), Best Paper Award from Vaccines/MDPI (2022), College of Life Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award (2018), Fulbright Scholar Award (2016), and Research Recognition Award from the Lupus Foundation of America Utah Chapter (2017). Poole has served as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Lupus Foundation of America Utah Chapter (2016-2019) and as Lead Guest Editor for the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology (2009-2012). His research has been funded by grants from the Merck Investigator Studies Program, American Cancer Society, Fulbright Organization, and Brigham Young University mentoring grants.