Dr. McNulty’s group is interested in elucidating the structure and mechanism of macromolecular complexes which are activated by SARS-CoV-2 as key mediators of the innate immune response. Specifically, he uses cryo-EM and other biochemical approaches to study inflammasome activation mechanism. NLRP3 inflammasome dysregulation can result in pyroptosis and septic shock. Dr. McNulty is UCI alumni and completed postdoctoral training at Scripps Research using Bacteriophage P22 as a model system to study virus genome packaging and ejection mechanism. Upon completed training at UCSD to manipulate murine disease models, he returned to UCI as Assistant Professor in 2019.