Don Gammon

Don Gammon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He earned his B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Windsor and Ph.D. in Virology from the University of Alberta, where his work identified key mechanisms of poxvirus drug resistance and host-virus enzyme interactions. After postdoctoral training with Nobel Laureate Craig Mello at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he developed RNA virus-lepidopteran host systems to study antiviral immunity, Gammon established his lab to investigate virus-host interplay using multidisciplinary approaches. His discoveries include the role of poxvirus A51R proteins in microtubule stabilization and the FEAR antiviral pathway.

His research spans virology, immunology, and molecular biology, focusing on how viruses evade host defenses and manipulate cellular machinery. He has secured patents for oncolytic virotherapy applications. The Gammon Lab employs cell culture, virology, and biochemical techniques alongside Lepidopteran and Caenorhabditis elegans models to dissect conserved antiviral mechanisms and viral countermeasures.

• Scientific Awards:
  • U.S. Patent for ribonucleotide reductase-deficient poxviruses in oncolytic virotherapy
  • W.W. Caruth, Jr. Scholar in Biomedical Research