Dr. Shearer obtained his Bachelor of Science degree (Biology) from Syracuse University, and his Ph.D. in Chemistry (Analytical, Inorganic) from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) and State University, where he studied the kinetics of iron compounds in reactions with nitric oxide and nitrous acid in the laboratories of Dr. John G. Mason.

He went on to hold, also at VPI and SU, a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratories of Dr. Hans Joachim Ache (Radio- and Nuclear Chemistry) where he studied positron chemistry and its application to biological compounds. This was followed by a research position in the immunology laboratory of Dr. Gerhard Schurig of the VA-MD College of Veterinary Medicine where Dr. Shearer worked on the application of ELISA/enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to the early diagnosis of Brucella abortus in dairy livestock.

He worked for Hercules, Inc. at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Radford, Virginia, where he led a research group analyzing various explosives and their composition. This position led to the publication of more than 25 research papers, all of which are still classified and not in the public domain.

Following this research stint, he went on to obtain his M.D. from St. George’s University School of Medicine, where he taught biochemistry to medical students and was a peer counselor to medical students and local Grenadians. This was followed by an Internal Medicine internship at State University of New York at Buffalo. He pursued a combined Anatomical and Clinical Pathology residency at the University of Rochester/Strong Memorial Hospital. Post-residency training included a fellowship in Forensic Pathology at Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office in Rochester, New York where he performed the majority of child abuse autopsy cases. His further fellowship training includes a Surgical Pathology fellowship at the University of Vermont and a Cytopathology/Cytology fellowship at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Shearer was an integral part and participant in the combined cytopathology/surgical pathology correlation meetings held regularly at MetroHealth Medical Center. He also gave all of the breast pathology conferences during that year, as well as teaching the ENT residents various aspects of head and neck, salivary gland and oral pathology.

Dr. Shearer completed another Surgical Pathology Fellowship at Danbury, Hospital in Danbury, CT. This program was affiliated with Yale University located in New Haven, CT. Dr. Shearer taught residents, both pathology and internal medicine, at Danbury Hospital and presented pertinent pathology for the yearlong series of renal pathology and breast pathology conferences held at that hospital.

Dr. Shearer belongs to various professional organizations. His main research interests are molecular pathology, environmental pathology, surgical pathology and the incorporation of general chemistry and biochemistry into his pathology lectures. His teaching interests center around the teaching of pathology to medical students, health science students and its clinical relevance in various disease states with emphasis on the clinicopathologic correlation of disease entities.

Dr. Shearer joined PNWU as an inaugural faculty member in August of 2008. He completed a one-year Sabbatical (2020 – 2021) where he interacted with other pathology educators, both in the United States and in Europe, to learn new ways of integrating pathology into a background of clinical medicine with an emphasis on patient presentation and detailing how normal physiology is interrupted by the pathophysiology of a disease mechanism. Dr. Shearer also used this Sabbatical time to take online courses in pathology and to participate in oncology and pathology lectures given by experts in these fields. After the completion of his Sabbatical Year, Dr. Shearer taught pathology online (via Zoom) to medical students and residents before joining the TouroCOM Montana faculty in July 2023.

Dr. Shearer is a United States Army Vietnam Veteran.

Education

• MD, St. George’s University School of Medicine
• PhD, Chemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• BS, Biology, Syracuse University

Research

Research interests: immunology research in pathogen detection, pathological hallmarks of disease including metabolic diseases and neurodegeneration.