Accelerating Countermeasure Development Through Rapid Antibody Discovery

In my role as Director of Antibody Discovery, I developed a robust, high-throughput platform to isolate lead therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies within weeks of viral emergence or immunization. Key successes include the isolation of antibodies that stabilized the intrinsically disordered SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein and those that captured the spike S2 subunit in a novel “breathing” state. Beyond COVID-19, this pipeline was used to develop antibodies for the study of the endogenous retrovirus HERV-K, a key target in autoimmune disease, as well as neutralizing antibodies against neglected pathogens like rabies. Most recently, I supported the discovery and characterization of the first panel of human antibodies targeting the measles virus fusion machinery. The integrated discovery-to-structure approach of this pipeline allows us to rapidly identify and interrogate new sites of vulnerability, facilitates the design of next-generation biologics and enhances our preparedness for future global health emergencies.