David Sheehan was educated at University College Cork in Ireland (BSc First Class Hons in Biochemistry, 1980) and Trinity College Dublin (PhD in Biochemistry, 1985). After holding several positions in the biotechnology and food industries in Ireland, the US and UK, he became a lecturer in Biochemistry at University College Cork in 1989. He was promoted to senior lecturer in 2001 and professor in 2007.
He was awarded one of the first President’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching in 2002 and holds a Higher Diploma in Teaching and Learning (2005). He was shortlisted for a Whartons-QS Stars Award in Teaching and Learning in Philadelphia in 2016 for his innovative approaches to teaching protein structure. David directed the MSc (Biotechnology) from 1997-2004 and, from 2013-2016, was Head of the School of Biochemistry & Cell Biology at UCC. He became Founding Dean of the College of Science at Khalifa University in Jan 2017.