Mission
The Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research conducts fundamental research on how the body successfully reacts to vaccines and battles infections and conversely, how infectious pathogens escape immune surveillance.
Overview
Modern medicine has made tremendous strides in fighting infectious diseases, but there is much more work to be done. Every year, influenza strikes millions of people, many of them fatally. Whooping cough and measles have made a comeback as the number of people who refuse to vaccinate their children grows. One third of the world’s population is infected with latent tuberculosis. Without treatment, about 5 to 10 percent of infected people will develop TB disease at some time in their lives.
Coronavirus Task Force
Meanwhile, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is sweeping the globe, taking the lives of hundreds of thousands. La Jolla Institute, one of the leading global organizations dedicated to studying the immune system, is stepping up to provide much needed information and real solutions for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We have launched a multi-lab Coronavirus Task Force that capitalizes on our competitive advantages of unique skill in infectious disease research, state-of-the-art technology and highly collaborative organization to respond to the current crisis and prepare for future emerging diseases. Our other work on HIV, Ebola, Dengue, Zika, and Cytomegalovirus are further laying the groundwork for developing vaccines for these serious infections.
COVID-19 Vaccines Resource Guide
With the national rollout of COVID-19 vaccines underway there are many questions circulating about the first mRNA COVID-19 vaccines to be approved for use by the public, so we put together a brief, easy-to-understand COVID-19 Vaccines Resource Guide.
THE VISIONARIES
LIFE WITHOUT DISEASE
The 30-minutes documentary “Life without Disease” by The Visionaries, an award-winning public television series hosted by Sam Waterston, showcases the critical work of La Jolla Institute for Immunology scientists working on the front lines of infectious disease including COVID-19.
Members
Latest News
The new CEO of the La Jolla Institute for Immunology ascended by lifting others
Erica Ollman Saphire brings together scientific competitors to find new antibody therapeutics for COVID-19.
Learning from men. Learning from women.
Men and women have different immune systems. With a better understanding of sex-specific immune differences, scientists can more effectively fight infections, cancers, heart disease, and even pregnancy complications.
Tempus dare: A time to give
San Diego biotech entrepreneurs François Ferré, Ph.D., and Magda Marquet, Ph.D., knew supporting LJI would be critical for advancing our understanding of COVID-19.
Q&A with Bjoern Peters, Ph.D.
The bioinformatics tools Dr. Peters has developed are invaluable for immunologists worldwide.
Shape-shifting Ebola virus protein exploits human RNA to change shape
New study highlights VP40 as a promising therapeutic target