Rate My Professor James Ussher

Professor James Ussher is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Otago, School of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Health Sciences. He holds an MBChB from the University of Otago (1999), a PhD from the University of Auckland (2010), and FRCPA (2010). From 2010 to 2013, he was an Oxford Nuffield Medical Fellow at the University of Oxford, UK. Appointed to the University of Otago in 2013, he concurrently serves as Clinical Microbiologist at Southern Community Laboratories and Director of the Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases at the University of Otago. His expertise encompasses applied and molecular immunology, medical microbiology, and vaccines.

Ussher's research focuses on infection and immunity, particularly mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells and their role in antibacterial immunity and immunopathology of bacterial infections, including harnessing these cells to prevent or treat infections. He has contributed to several fundamental discoveries in MAIT cell biology. He employs molecular epidemiology to study antimicrobial resistance in Enterobacteriaceae and transmission pathways, alongside developing diagnostics, vaccines, and infection control measures. His group developed a SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assay on the Panther Fusion for high-throughput testing, cultured and characterized SARS-CoV-2 with genome sequencing, and collaborated on novel diagnostics. Key publications include Ussher et al., "CD161++ CD8+ T cells, including the MAIT cell subset, are specifically activated by IL-12+IL-18 in a TCR-independent manner" (European Journal of Immunology, 2014); Cosgrove et al., "Early and nonreversible decrease of CD161++/MAIT cells in HIV infection" (Blood, 2013); Sheppard et al., "Recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 6 efficiently transduces primary human melanocytes" (PLoS ONE, 2013); Locke et al., "Transduction of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells by recombinant adeno-associated virus vectors" (Tissue Engineering Part C: Methods, 2011); and Ussher and Taylor, "Optimized transduction of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells by recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 6" (Human Gene Therapy, 2010). Funding includes Health Research Council, Maurice Wilkins Centre, and University of Otago Research Grant. He teaches MICR 223 Infection and Immunity and MICR 332 Health Microbiology.