Emerging projects in the Saphire lab: Endogenous retroviruses as neoantigens and the CAR-T immune synapse

Erica Ollmann Saphire, Ph.D., MBA, is President and CEO and a Professor at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. An international leader in pandemic and emerging viruses and a pioneer in structural immunology, her work has delivered foundational “firsts” revealing how some of the world’s most lethal viruses function at the molecular level and how to provide medical defenses. Recognizing that biological sex is a fundamental variable in health and disease, Dr. Saphire launched an institute-wide initiative to uncover sex-based differences in immune function, revealing why women and men experience different susceptibilities, symptoms, and outcomes across infectious disease, cancer, and autoimmunity. These insights are opening new paths to more accurate diagnosis, safer therapies, and more effective prevention for women and men. Dr. Saphire is also widely recognized for building global, multidisciplinary collaborations that translate discovery into vaccines and antibody therapies. Her work has been recognized with numerous national and international awards, including 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.