Dr. Matt Sharkey is an adjunct faculty member and teaches Microbiology 741 (Policy & Pandemic Management) and 803 (Biosafety, Biosecurity, and Biodefense). He received a BS in Molecular Biology and a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, both from Purdue University. His published works include eight peer-reviewed research and review articles and a U.S. patent. For more than nine years he was either a researcher or biosafety officer in BSL-3 high-containment laboratories, including two years in a SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV laboratory and two years supporting the Laboratory Response Network. He also spent ten years supporting the DoD by assessing international dual-use research of concern networks and evaluating the safety and security of high-containment laboratories in the developing world. He has received fellowships for postdoctoral work from Ionis Pharmaceutical and the National Research Council, the latter of which supported his work at the US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).
Currently, Dr. Sharkey works as a Biologist in the Office of Strategy, Policy, Planning, and Requirements in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) of HHS. He coordinates interagency policy development related to biodefense, biological safety and security, and emerging biothreats, working closely with the National Security Council and the Office of Science and Technology Policy to ensure that U.S. biosafety and biodefense policies are robust. He leads or supports several interagency policy efforts, including the Potentially Pandemic Pathogen Care and Oversight HHS funding review mechanism, the HHS Biosafety and Biosecurity Coordinating Council, the National Biodefense Strategy, the review and revision of the HHS Screening Framework Guidance for Providers of Synthetic Double-Stranded DNA, and the development of implementation frameworks for the National Strategy for Planetary Protection. Previously, he supported the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) developing R&D and procurement requirements for medical countermeasures against CBW and also led the development of the backward contamination objective of the National Strategy for Planetary Protection and its implementation frameworks. As a citizen of Frederick, MD, he also advises Frederick leadership on issues and concerns surrounding safety practices at the high containment laboratories operating at Ft. Detrick.