Claudia Raja-Gabaglia, M.D./Ph.D.
A native of Brazil, Dr. Claudia Raja-Gabaglia received her doctorates from the State University of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil has experienced a spike in the number of cases of Leishmania, a parasitic infection transmitted by sand flies, in recent years. Two million new cases of the disease are reported worldwide each year. Visceral Leishmaniasis, affecting the spleen, liver and bone marrow, can be fatal if untreated. Dr. Raja-Gabaglia seeks to develop a vaccine against the parasite. She continues to study how adenovirus expressing interleukin-12 may be protective against Leishmaniasis and how to elicit a strong T cell response after infection.
Todd Braciak, Ph.D.
Dr. Todd Braciak completed his postdoctoral studies in immunology at UCLA after completing his doctorate at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. He has completed numerous studies on the structure and function of interleukin-6, an important factor in both humoral and cell mediated immunity. These results have potential application for understanding how to elicit a powerful immune response against a wide variety of infectious agents. Dr. Braciak strives to develop a vaccine, for intranasal delivery, to protect against inhalation anthrax. He collaborates with Dr. Raja-Gabaglia to develop a vaccine against Leishmaniasis.
Clemencia Pinilla, Ph.D.
Dr. Clemencia Pinilla, internationally renown in the field of combinatorial chemistry, received her doctorate from National University of Colombia in Bogotá. She employs positional scanning of synthetic mixture based peptide libraries to identify promising compounds with potential antimicrobial and anti-tumor properties. Dr. Pinilla’s studies have contributed to greater understanding of the immune system and factors underlying both B and T cell recognition. Her results have promising application for diagnostics and synthetic vaccine development for a host of human diseases.
Sally Sarawar, Ph.D.
Dr. Sarawar received her Ph.D from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Manchester, England, where she also did her postdoctoral training in the Departments of Pathology and Immunology. She held positions at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the La Jolla Institute of Allergy and Immunology between 1992 and 2003 and was recruited to the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies in October 2003. Research in this laboratory is focused on understanding the role of cytokines and costimulatory molecules in viral immunity and pathogenesis. We also have a long-term interest in studying the impact of viral infections on other disease states such as asthma, bacterial infections and autoimmunity.
James Binley, Ph.D.
Dr. Binley received his Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield, England, with a 4 year internship at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla. He moved to New York City for postdoctoral studies at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He returned to La Jolla in 2001 as a Staff Scientist at Scripps and co-ordinated projects for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. In 2004, moved to the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies. His laboratory studies the antibody response to HIV-1 infection, with a particular emphasis AIDS vaccine candidates designed to elicit neutralizing antibodies. He is also a member of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, an international consortium of researchers dedicated to finding an AIDS vaccine.
