Erica Ollmann Saphire, PhD

Professor at La Jolla Institute for Immunology

Speaker

Erica Ollmann Saphire, Ph.D., MBA, is the President and CEO, as well as a professor at La Jolla Institute for Immunology. Throughout her career, Dr. Saphire had her sights firmly trained on research areas with the greatest global scientific and public health impact. She is one of the world’s leading experts in pandemic and emerging viruses and has been a pioneer in structural immunology with many previously considered impossible “firsts” to her name. These firsts are, of course, seminal discoveries in understanding deadly viruses at the molecular level, but, more importantly, her successful efforts to build truly global, multidisciplinary consortia that had a tremendous impact on global human health and propelled the entire field forward. Capitalizing on her unique ability to bring together researchers from academia, industry, and government to bridge the gulf between results obtained in the lab and treatments urgently needed in the field, Dr. Saphire is leading several international consortia to address the urgent need for effective vaccines and antibody therapeutics against viral threats such as Epstein-Barr and CMV which cause lifelong infections and can lead to multiple forms of cancer, birth defects, and autoimmune disease, as well as acute viruses like Ebola and Lassa. Recognizing the need to close the research gap in women’s health, Dr. Saphire recently launched an institute-wide initiative to uncover sex-based differences in the immune system and how these foundational differences can be applied to improve the lives of both women and men. The fascinating findings explain why males and females have different susceptibilities to and different manifestations of disease, opening doors to better diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Among many other awards and honors, Dr. Saphire’s work has been recognized at the White House with the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering, the Pantheon Award for Academia, Non-Profit and Research from the California Life Sciences, and the Marion Spencer Fay Award.