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Bryan R Cullen obtained a BSc in biochemistry from Warwick University (UK) and a MSc in virology from the University of Birmingham (UK) before moving to the USA, where he obtained a PhD in microbiology from Rutgers University (NJ, USA). In 1987, he was recruited to Duke University Medical Center (NC, USA) as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Assistant Professor. He currently holds a James B Duke Professorship in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, and serves as Director of the Center for Virology at Duke. Bryan Cullen's interests have historically revolved around the use of viruses as genetic tools to understand aspects of the biology of the eukaryotic cell, focusing particularly on RNA sequence-mediated gene regulation. Currently, his laboratory is studying the biogenesis and function of miRNAs, in particular virus-encoded miRNAs, and also works on human factors that act as innate inhibitors of both retrovirus infection and retrotransposon mobility. Bryan Cullen has published over 280 research papers and is on the editorial board of 11 prominent journals.
Q Could you tell our readers a little about your career to date & how you came to your current role?
I was born in the UK in Bradford, Yorkshire, and went through grammar school there at a place called Thornton Grammar School, Thornton being famous for where the Bronte sisters lived before they moved to Haworth, which is about 5 miles up the road. From there I went to Warwick, then did a Master's at the Queen Elizabeth Medical School in Birmingham (UK) with Peter Wildy, who was at that point (1974) one of the world leaders in herpesvirus research. Then I moved to the USA, mainly because my parents had moved over here while I was at Warwick, and I worked as a technician for a couple of years before doing a PhD at Rutgers University in New Jersey (USA). I took a job at Hoffmann-La Roche (NJ, USA) right out of my PhD so I never did a post-doc. By the time I finished my PhD, I had around 20 papers, so that got me a job directly, which was something that was possible in those days, it's not so easy now. I worked at Roche for 3 or 4 years,...