K. Christopher Garcia, PhD 

Younger Family Professor and Professor of Structural Biology;  
Stanford University 
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HMMI)  

Dr. Garcia is Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and of Structural Biology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He is also an Investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He received his B.S. in biochemistry from Tulane University, and his Ph.D. in biophysics from Johns Hopkins University. After two years of post-doctoral work at Genentech, Inc. under Dr. David Goeddel in the Dept. of Molecular Biology, where he learned the emerging technologies of protein engineering and recombinant protein expression, Dr. Garcia moved to a second post-doctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute in the laboratory of Prof. Ian Wilson, where he succeeded in determining the first crystal structures of the T-cell receptor and then its complex with peptide-MHC.  

In 1999, Dr. Garcia started his lab at Stanford University School of Medicine where he has progressed to Full Professor. Dr. Garcia was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2012 and the National Academy of Medicine in 2016. Dr. Garcia’s laboratory continues the investigation of structural and functional aspects of cell surface receptor recognition and activation, in receptor-ligand systems with relevance to human health and disease.  

The Garcia Lab uses structural information on receptor-ligand complexes to engineer variant proteins and/or surrogates to manipulate receptor signaling and cellular function, with an eye towards therapeutic applications. The receptor systems studied derive principally from the immune system (TCR/MHC, cytokines, chemokine GPCR). Their focus is on “shared” pleiotropic cytokine receptors to understand the biophysical basis by which different ligands are able to elicit unique intracellular responses and functional outcomes, as well as to exploit this information to engineer receptor-specific ligands. In addition to IntegerBio, Dr. Garcia has founded or co-founded several biotech companies, including Synthekine, Surrozen (Wnt agonists), 3T (TCR antigen discovery) and ALX Oncology (SIRP/CD7 antagonist). 

Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD 

The Herbert S. Gasser Professor, Departments of Medicine, Molecular Microbiology, Pathology & Immunology, Washington University 

Dr. Diamond’s laboratory studies the molecular basis of disease of globally emerging RNA viruses, and focuses on the interface between pathogenesis and host immunity. He identified many of the key innate and adaptive immune system components that define protection against flaviviruses, and the viral genes that antagonize this response.  

His laboratory has made significant contributions, including as example, identifying a novel pathogen-associated molecular pattern and mechanism of innate immune restriction proteins. His group has used genome-wide screening to identify host factors required by viruses, including novel entry receptors for multiple alphaviruses of global concern. He has led the field in studying mechanisms of pathogenesis of Zika virus infection and disease including in pregnancy, and more recently studied how the microbiome modulates immunity and infection of arthropod-transmitted viruses.  His group also has generated, characterized, and mapped thousands of neutralizing antibodies against Zika, West Nile, Dengue, Mayaro, and Chikungunya viruses. His work has led directly to the development of antiviral therapeutic antibodies and vaccines against both flaviviruses and alphaviruses. Most recently, his laboratory has begun efforts to study the biology and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 and is pursuing strategies for developing antibody and vaccine countermeasures and novel mouse models of disease and identifying correlates of immune protection. 

Dr. Diamond earned his B.A., Political Science from Columbia University, PhD, Cell and Developmental Biology from Harvard University and his MD from Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston.  He is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, Association of American Physicians, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the National Academy of Medicine. He is also a recipient of Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and currently an elected Councilor for the Association of American Physicians. 

Sumit Chanda, PhD 

Professor, Scripps Research, Department of Immunology and Microbiology  
Senior Principal Investigator Calibr at Scripps Research  

Dr. Chanda’s lab is part of the Scripps Research Institute, Department of Immunology and Microbiology.  Dr. Chanda has contributed to the fight against many viral diseases including SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID illness, as well as influenza, Dengue virus and HIV.  His work examines not only how pathogens infect cells, but how the immune system responds, with an eye toward prevention and treatment.  

 The Chanda Lab exploits systems-based approaches and cutting-edge technologies to study the virus-host interface and innate immunity, with a focus on RNA viruses that pose a pandemic threat.  Finding from the Lab drive drug discovery efforts through Calibr, translational research arm of Scripps, including the development of next-generation antivirals, adjuvants for vaccines, and immunotherapies. The Lab’s research efforts are supported by the Gates Foundation, the US Department of Defense, the Martin Delaney Collaboratory, AViDD and other NIH contracts, cooperative agreements and grants. The group has also partnered with major pharmaceutical and biotech companies for early-phase drug discovery in the field of antivirals and inflammatory diseases. 

Chanda has produced major advances in other areas, as well. He helped discover how HIV suppresses the innate immune response. Innate immunity is a non-specific response to infection, such as inflammation, which can both protect and harm if it becomes overly aggressive or chronic. 

Chanda earned his doctorate in molecular pharmacology from Stanford University in 2001, and he says that experience in Silicon Valley inspired his motivation to improve scientific methodology with technological innovations. To that end, he is the founder of a widely used open-source tool for annotating genes, called metascape.org.  From Stanford, Chanda joined the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation in La Jolla, where he went on to lead his first research group in its Division of Cellular Genomics, working with Schultz. He subsequently joined Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in 2007. Since 2015, he directed its Immunity and Pathogenesis program.