The primary objective of the Whitehead lab is the development and early clinical evaluation of vaccines for arboviruses. Our comprehensive approach encompasses a bench-to-bedside research program involving vaccine discovery and the generation of recombinant live attenuated viruses that can be pre-clinically studied in mice, nonhuman primates, and mosquitoes before they undergo cGMP manufacture and evaluation in human clinical trials. Support of this vaccine pipeline requires research to understand the mechanisms of virus attenuation and immune presentation, as well as research to support new methods to evaluate immune responses following vaccination or infection.
Stephen S. Whitehead, Ph.D.
Senior Investigator, Arbovirus Vaccine Research Section
Education:
Ph.D., 1994, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Dr. Whitehead received his Ph.D. from Oregon State University in 1994, where he worked with Dr. Dennis Hruby. After completing postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University, he joined NIAID at the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases in 1995 as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Brian Murphy. His work focused on the development of vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus. In 2018, Dr. Whitehead...
Emerito Amaro-Carambot, B.Sc.
Biologist
Education:
B.S., 2001, Microbiology, University of Puerto Rico, Humacao, Puerto Rico
Languages Spoken: Spanish
My research is focused on the development and support of pre-clinical and clinical evaluation of live-attenuated virus vaccines for flavivirus, specifically dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus (ZIKV), West Nile virus (WNV), and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) (BSL-3). Some of the techniques I use are NGS and Sanger sequencing, maintenance of cell cultures, flow cytometry, real-time PCR...
Elaine Lamirande, B.Sc.
Biologist
Education:
B.S., 1989, Zoology, Duke University, Durham, NC
I study dengue, Zika, and other flaviviruses in the Arbovirus Vaccine Research Section, where we develop and evaluate vaccine candidates. I also assist with insectary husbandry and in managing the lab.
Saurabh Kumar, M.S., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Visiting Fellow
Education:
Ph.D., 2019, Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
M.S., 2010, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Assam, India
Languages Spoken: Hindi, Assamese
My research interest is in understanding the molecular mechanisms of attenuation of viral vaccine strains and developing safe and efficacious flavivirus vaccine candidates.
William Stone, B.S.
Predoctoral Fellow
Education:
B.S., 2019, Biochemistry and Microbiology, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg, VA
I am primarily interested in the factors contributing to outbreaks of vector-borne diseases and the interplay between the diseases and vector arthropods. I am also interested in the biosecurity landscape, including new and emerging threats resulting from new technologies, as well as the development of policies and countermeasures to address them.
