Michael Parker

Michael Parker, PhD, is an Assistant Dean and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Biology at Georgetown University (Washington, DC). He advises undergraduate majors in Biology and Chemistry and leads research on biosecurity policy. His educational background includes a BS in Biology (Millersville University) and MS/PhD in Immunobiology (Yale University), where he studied innate immune responses to RNA viruses as a Gruber Fellow and NSF Graduate Research Fellow.

Research Focus

Dr. Parker specializes in biosecurity, virology, and policy analysis. His group investigates:

• Historical trends in biothreat risk assessments
• Regulatory frameworks for synthetic DNA and chimeric viruses
• Public commenting impacts on biosafety policies
• DNA synthesis provider screening practices

Publication Trends

Recent work (2022–2025) emphasizes biosecurity policy, risk assessment, and synthetic biology governance. Earlier publications (2014–2018) cover immunology, virology, plant genomics, and education tax policy.

Awards

• Gruber Science Fellowship
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship

Research Group

Dr. Parker directs a team focused on biothreat policy analysis. Current projects include the COBRA database for historical risk assessments and evaluations of DNA synthesis regulations.