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 that successfully addressed 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.