Dr. David Sheehan
Dr. David Sheehan Professor & Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Bio
Education
Teaching Areas
Research Interests
Bio

Dean, College of Arts and Sciences & Professor, Department of Chemistry

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.

Education
  • 2009 DSc (for published work)  National University of Ireland
  • 2005 Higher Diploma in Teaching and Learning, University College Cork, Ireland
  • 1985 PhD Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
  • 1980 BSc (First Class Hons)  University College Cork, Ireland
Teaching Areas
  • Protein Biochemistry including structure-function relationships
  • Enzymology
  • Biophysical methods used in modern Molecular Life Sciences
Research Interests
  • David is an expert on enzymes, protein structure and toxicology.
  • He has published more than 140 peer-reviewed papers and four books including two editions of his Wiley textbook “Physical Biochemistry: Principles and Applications”. In recognition of his published work he was awarded a DSc by the National University of Ireland in 2009.
  • David has supervised 20 PhD students and 22 MSc students to graduation. He is a frequent PhD external examiner and grant and journal referee.
    He is an editorial board member of several journals, a member of the American Chemical Society, and from 2003-2016 he served on the British Biophysical Society Committee. His published work has attracted about 5,400 citations and a h-index of 35 (Scopus) and approximately 7,700 citations and a h-index of 43 (Google Scholar).