Dr Sheppard is a Principal Investigator and Advanced Research Fellow within the Section of Virology where she leads a research programme investigating how viral RNA polymerases exploit host cellular machinery to drive replication, evolution and host adaptation.

Carol was awarded a PhD in Molecular Microbiology from Imperial College London in 2012. Her doctoral research focused on bacteriophage–host interactions, specifically demonstrating the antimicrobial potential of phage-encoded proteins through their inhibition of bacterial RNA polymerase. Following her PhD, Carol undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at University College London, where she broadened her research portfolio into archaeal virology. She established a new and pioneering research stream investigating the complex interplay between hyperthermophilic viruses and their archaeal hosts. She characterised the first archaeo-viral protein of its kind, providing foundational insights into archaeal–virus interactions and helping to bridge mechanistic understanding across all three domains of life.

Her research has since focused on influenza viruses and the host factors that govern viral replication and host range. She made key contributions to the discovery of the essential role of host ANP32 proteins in supporting influenza virus RNA polymerase activity, providing fundamental insights into species barriers and viral adaptation. This work has been instrumental in establishing the mechanistic basis for the development of gene-edited influenza-resistant poultry, demonstrating the translational potential of targeting host dependency factors. Building on these discoveries, Carol developed innovative approaches to identify and characterise novel host factors that regulate viral RNA polymerases, forming the foundation of her independent research programme.

The Sheppard laboratory seeks to answer a central question in virology: how do viruses exploit host proteins to coordinate RNA polymerase function and thereby control transcription, genome replication, evolution and adaptation to new hosts? To address this, the laboratory integrates molecular virology, biochemistry, structural and mechanistic analyses to define the molecular architecture of virus–host interactions.

A major objective of the programme is to translate mechanistic insight into therapeutic opportunity. By identifying host pathways that are essential for viral replication yet less susceptible to evolutionary escape, the laboratory is advancing the development of next-generation host-directed antivirals and gene-editing strategies to generate virus-resistant livestock. These approaches aim to provide broader, more durable protection against emerging viral threats.