Oliver received his B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology at University of California, Berkeley, with the emphasis on immunology. For his thesis work, he demonstrated the activation of innate immune pathway P38 MAPK by gut microbiota in C. elegans. He further received his PhD in Virology under the mentorship of Prof Lynn Enquist, studying virus-induced degradation of kinesin-3 motor KIF1A in neuronal infection of an alphaherpesvirus, pseudorabies virus. Oliver joined the Engel Lab in August 2020.