Glenn received his B.S. with distinction in Microbiology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. After an internship at Abbott Laboratories, he pursued graduate studies at the University of Chicago in the laboratory of Bernard Roizman. His doctoral thesis describes mechanisms by which herpes simplex virus I establishes a latent infection. He then joined the Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease at Rockefeller University in New York. His American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellowship was under the mentorship of Charles Rice. His research focused on hepatitis C virus (HCV)-host interactions with an emphasis on the interaction between HCV and cellular RNA interference (RNAi) pathways. He joined the Department of Microbiology at the University of Chicago in August of 2005.

Glenn's research investigates the roles of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-host interactions in viral replication and pathogenesis. He has applied RNAi interference as a genetic approach to identify host genes required for HCV infection. These genes are likely to regulate diverse steps of the viral life cycle, including entry, viral translation, protein processing, replication, assembly, and egress of virus. Additionally, numerous genes involved in cellular stress response pathways were found to regulate HCV replication. His laboratory is currently exploring the function and roles of a subset of these host genes in viral replication.

Dr. Randall contributes to the Microbiology program by assisting in the teaching of Medical Microbiology, Viruses of Eukaryotes, the Microbiology Seminar Series and serving as a mentor and on various thesis committees for Microbiology graduate students.