- Assistant Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
- Core Scientist, Infectious Disease and Translational Medicine (IDTM) Division, Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC)
UW Laboratory Medicine & Pathology
1705 NE Pacific St
Seattle, WA 98195
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Dr. O’Connor’s research program is dedicated to investigating viral infections and co-infections, with a particular emphasis on emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Her work centers on understanding co-infections in people living with HIV, focusing on four key areas: 1) assessing the risks associated with co-infection, 2) identifying immune responses and novel immune pathways linked to disease pathogenesis, 3) examining alterations in the host microbiome and their impact on disease progression, and 4) utilizing pre-clinical models to test potential vaccines and therapeutics for individuals living with HIV. Through this comprehensive approach, Dr. O’Connor aims to enhance our understanding of viral dynamics and immune interactions, ultimately guiding the development of more effective treatments and prevention strategies.
Megan completed her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and worked for several years under the mentorship of Dr. Scott Wong at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI). She received her PhD in Immunology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth under the mentorship of Dr. William Green, where she studied innate immune mechanisms contributing to LP-BM5 murine retroviral pathogenesis and immunodeficiency. She completed her postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Deborah Fuller at the University of Washington and evaluated pre-clinical nucleic acid vaccines against HIV, ZIKV, HBV, and SARS-CoV-2.
- PhD in Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
- BA in Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley
- COVID-19
- HIV/AIDS
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases
- Microbiome
1. Tisoncik-Go J, Lewis TB, Whitmore LS, Voss K, Niemeyer S, Dai J, Kim P, Hubbell K, Iwayama N, Ahrens C, Wangari S, Murnane R, Edlefsen PT, Guerriero KA, Gale M Jr, Fuller DH, O'Connor MA. Persistent innate immune dysfunction and ZIKV replication in the gastrointestinal tract during SIV infection in pigtail macaques. Front Immunol. 2025;16:1535807. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1535807. eCollection 2025. PubMed PMID: 40103823; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11913663
2. O'Connor MA, Hawman DW, Meade-White K, Leventhal S, Song W, Randall S, Archer J, Lewis TB, Brown B, Fredericks MN, Sprouse KR, Tunggal HC, Maughan M, Iwayama N, Ahrens C, Garrison W, Wangari S, Guerriero KA, Hanley P, Lovaglio J, Saturday G, Veesler D, Edlefsen PT, Khandhar AP, Feldmann H, Fuller DH, Erasmus JH. A replicon RNA vaccine can induce durable protective immunity from SARS-CoV-2 in nonhuman primates after neutralizing antibodies have waned. PLoS Pathog. 2023 Apr;19(4):e1011298. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011298. eCollection 2023 Apr. PubMed PMID: 37075079; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10150980.
3. Tisoncik-Go J, Voss KM, Lewis TB, Muruato AE, Kuller L, Finn EE, Betancourt D, Wangari S, Ahrens J, Iwayama N, Grant RF, Murnane RD, Edlefsen PT, Fuller DH, Barber GN, Gale M Jr, O'Connor MA. Evaluation of the immunogenicity and efficacy of an rVSV vaccine against Zika virus infection in macaca nemestrina. Front Virol. 2023;3. doi: 10.3389/fviro.2023.1108420. Epub 2023 Feb 28. PubMed PMID: 37383986; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1030624.
4. Walls AC, VanBlargan LA, Wu K, Choi A, Navarro MJ, Lee D, Avena L, Berrueta DM, Pham MN, Elbashir S, Kraft JC, Miranda MC, Kepl E, Johnson M, Blackstone A, Sprouse K, Fiala B, O'Connor MA, Brunette N, Arunachalam PS, Shirreff L, Rogers K, Carter L, Fuller DH, Villinger F, Pulendran B, Diamond MS, Edwards DK, King NP, Veesler D. Distinct sensitivities to SARS-CoV-2 variants in vaccinated humans and mice.Cell Rep. 2022 Aug 30;40(9):111299. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111299. Epub 2022 Aug 15. PubMed PMID: 35988541; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9376299.