aboutus
The Miller Laboratory is focused on understanding the intimate relationship between viral pathogens and their hosts. Upon infection, both the innate and the adaptive branches of the immune system are mobilized with the aim of protecting the host from virus-mediated pathologies. However, improper regulation of anti-viral immune responses can themselves lead to disease. In addition, viruses have - and continue to - evolve elegant strategies through which to avoid host-mediated immune recognition. Thus, understanding the qualities of immune responses which are effective in protecting the host, as well as those qualities that may cause harm, is essential to informing the development of novel vaccines and therapeutics.
Dr. Matthew Miller, PhD
Director, Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research
Canada Research Chair in Viral Pandemics
Associate Professor, Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences
Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences
Institute for Infectious Diseases Research
McMaster Immunology Research Centre
McMaster University
905-525-9140 ext. 22387
mmiller@mcmaster.ca
Highly motivated graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to apply by email - with CV and transcript(s) attached.
Dr. Miller is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University. He is also a member of the Institute for Infectious Diseases Research and the McMaster Immunology Research Centre.
Dr. Miller’s interest in infectious diseases and immunology began during his undergraduate education in the BMSc program at the University of Western Ontario, where he completed an Honors Specialization in Microbiology and Immunology. He went on to complete a PhD in the same department in the laboratories of Dr. Laura Hertel and Dr. Joe Mymryk, where he studied the molecular virology of DNA viruses, including human cytomegalovirus and human adenovirus. During his PhD studies, Dr. Miller was awarded a highly competitive Frederick Banting and Charles Best CIHR Doctoral Award. He was also honored to receive the Dr. John Robinson Graduate Scholarship, the John A. Thomas Award and the Stephen D. Poland Award from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Western University.
After completing his PhD, Dr. Miller moved to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Mount Sinai) in New York, NY, to pursue postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Dr. Peter Palese. These studies were supported, in part, by a prestigious CIHR Postdoctoral Research Award. During his time in New York, Dr. Miller’s research focused on characterizing the innate and adaptive immune responses to viral infection. Specifically, Dr. Miller’s work helped to define how broadly-neutralizing antibodies against influenza A virus are generated and function in humans. This work has been instrumental in the ongoing development of a “universal” influenza virus vaccine and remains an active area of study in the Miller Lab. Dr. Miller also discovered an unexpected role for Senataxin – a protein involved in several neurodegenerative disorders, including ALS – in regulating the antiviral response. This relationship between infection-inflammation-neurodegeneration is an area of active investigation by the Miller Lab.
Awards and Accomplishments
Ontario Early Researcher Award (2017)
2015-2016 CIHR New Investigator Award (2016)
Bhagirath Singh Early Career Award in Infection and Immunity (2015)
American Association of Immunologists Early Career Travel Award (2015)
European Scientific Working group on Influenza (ESWI) Best Oral Presentation Award (2014)
European Scientific Working group on Influenza (ESWI) Young Scientist Travel Award (2014)
Stephen D. Poland Award (2013)
Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship (2012)
John A. Thomas Award (2011)
Canadian Institutes of Health Research Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Research Award (2010)
John Robinson Graduate Scholarship (2010)