Rate My Professor Heather Shearer

Heather Shearer completed her PhD in 2022 at the University of Otago Christchurch in the Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science, part of the Centre for Redox Biology and Medicine (Mātai Hāora). Her doctoral thesis, titled 'Sensitising Streptococcus pneumoniae to oxidative stress,' investigated bacterial responses to immune-derived oxidants. Prior to this, she earned a PhD in 2018 from the University of Canterbury, where her research developed lab-on-a-chip devices to measure protrusive forces exerted by pathogenic oomycete species, such as Neurospora crassa. Following graduation from Otago, Shearer served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the same department from March 2022 to December 2023. She currently holds the position of Postdoctoral Associate in Dr. Lindsey Backman's laboratory at the Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Shearer's research centers on the redox biology of bacterial pathogens, specifically their defense mechanisms against host-generated oxidants like hypothiocyanous acid (HOSCN) from lactoperoxidase systems. Her work has identified critical enzymes and pathways enabling survival during infection. Key first-author publications include 'MerA functions as a hypothiocyanous acid reductase and defense mechanism in Staphylococcus aureus' (Molecular Microbiology, 2023), 'Glutathione utilization protects Streptococcus pneumoniae against lactoperoxidase-derived hypothiocyanous acid' (Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 2022), 'A newly identified flavoprotein disulfide reductase Har protects Streptococcus pneumoniae against hypothiocyanous acid' (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2022), 'Resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae to hypothiocyanous acid generated by host peroxidases' (Infection and Immunity, 2022), and 'Identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae genes associated with hypothiocyanous acid tolerance through genome-wide screening' (Journal of Bacteriology, 2023). Additional contributions encompass 'Hypothiocyanous acid reductase is critical for host colonization and infection by Streptococcus pneumoniae' (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2024) and 'Bactericidal activity of the oxidants derived from mammalian heme peroxidases' (book chapter, 2021). These publications, many in collaboration with Professors Mark Hampton, James Paton, and Nina Dickerhof, have illuminated glutathione utilization, MerA, and Har roles in oxidant resistance, informing potential antimicrobial strategies. Shearer has presented at international symposia, including SfRBM 2023 on compartmentalized redox signaling, and received a travel award from the Society for Free Radical Research Australasia in 2023.