
Nine new faculty join Scripps Research The newly appointed faculty are making transformative discoveries in areas ranging across drug discovery, neuroscience, chemistry, immunity and more.
July 08, 2024
LA JOLLA, CA Scripps Research is welcoming eight new scientists who bring their expertise to advance crucial discoveries in human health. They aim to make significant strides in areas including HIV, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune disorders and much more.
This enormously talented group of scientists brings a diverse array of cutting-edge science to us that will further enrich our community, says Peter Schultz, PhD, President and CEO of Scripps Research. These appointments will lead to exciting collaborations and breakthroughs as we continue to push the frontiers of scientific discovery and innovation in medicine.
Renan V. H. de Carvalho, PhD Immunology & Microbiology, Assistant Professor
De Carvalho is revealing what factors promote long-lived immune responses. In particular, he studies an important component related to the immune system: plasma cells (PCs), the key antibody-producing machines in the body. PCs and antibodies give us protection against a wide variety of infectious diseases, and their induction is the goal of almost every vaccination strategy. Yet, scientists do not know what promotes plasma cell persistence and lingering antibody responses.
At Scripps Research, he aims to find the mechanisms that instruct certain PCs to become long-lived, knowledge which will address a major gap in the understanding of basic immunology. Knowing their longevity properties will ultimately allow manipulation of PCs not only to develop better vaccines against microorganisms and tumors, but also to avoid excessive inflammation and promote homeostasis.
De Carvalho comes to Scripps Research from The Rockefeller University, where, as a postdoctoral research fellow, he focused on longevity of B cell responses and germinal centers. Before that, he conducted doctoral and postdoctoral research at the University of Sao Paulo and received his bachelor's degree from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora.
Christian Diercks, PhD Chemistry, Assistant Professor
Diercks is leveraging his background in both materials chemistry and directed evolution to develop therapeutics and gene delivery vehicles that target specific cell types and tissues.
His lab at Scripps Research will develop systems for the directed evolution of biomacromolecules and nanostructured materials that can selectively target specific tissues, cell types or surface receptors. During his postdoctoral research in the Schultz lab at Scripps Research, he developed a system that accelerates natural evolution of specified genes by up to 100,000-fold. Now, he will use this system to rapidly evolve therapeutic proteins that selectively target or modify cancer-specific glycan determinants sugar sequences on the surface of cells. Differences in these glycosylation patterns are not unique to disease but are also observed between different cell types or tissues of the body. Viruses have evolved to recognize such glycosylation patterns to infect specific cell types or tissues. He aims to target those differences and evolve specialized non-viral gene delivery vehicles for therapeutic applications.
Before his postdoctoral work at Scripps Research, he earned his PhD in Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley and received his BS in Chemistry from the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg.
Darrell Irvine, PhD Immunology & Microbiology, Professor
At Scripps Research, Irvine aims to collaborate across immunology, microbiology and other areas to engage with translational science opportunities, particularly around infectious disease and cancer. A major effort of his laboratory at Scripps Research will be directed toward vaccine development for HIV and cancer immunotherapy.
Engineering strategies directed toward problems in cellular immunology can lead to treatments for cancer, infectious diseases and autoimmune conditions. The Irvine lab aims to achieve this by integrating principles from immunology with biotechnology and materials chemistry. Specifically, he applies engineering principles to modulate and empower the immune system in the prevention and treatment of human diseases. For example, his lab is developing synthetic materials (smart materials and nanotechnology) to enhance vaccines against infectious disease and cancer, as well as materials that can help improve anti-tumor immune responses.
Irvine, who is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, was previously a professor at MIT, where he also received his PhD. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburg.
Ann Kennedy, PhD Neuroscience, Associate Professor
Kennedy studies the underlying neuroscience and brain structures that give rise to fundamental behaviors related to fear, survival and social interactions. By better understanding the neural activities that guide our decision-making and behavior, her work aims to reveal insights about the guiding principles of behavior, as well as what happens in cases of dysfunctions for example, social dysfunction or excessive fear and anxiety.
Her lab at Scripps Research will focus on how the brain learns, makes decisions and works toward goals. In particular, she researches how neural populations represent sensory and internal data by looking at various brain structures, such as the hypothalamus and its role in social and defensive behavior; the basal ganglia's part in influencing certain behaviors; and the hippocampus' activity related to social-bond formation. Using tools from dynamical systems, statistical modeling and machine learning, her lab will reveal key insights into flexible and adaptive behavior control.
Previously, she worked as an assistant profes
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
28/04/2026
Triton Digital's Podcast Metrics Demos+ Data Integration Enables Comprehensi...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
TAG Video Systems, the leading IP-native Realtime Media Platform, today announced that Lens, its visual service health interface for broadcast operations, recei...
28/04/2026
Open AV-over-IP Standard Recognized in IT Networking/Infrastructure and Security Category
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today announced that the ...
28/04/2026
VFX History: Slit Scan
Graham Quince April 28, 2026
0 Comments
How did 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation...
28/04/2026
These DaVinci Resolve Effects Will Make You a More Creative Colorist
Kasia Jarco April 28, 2026
0 Comments
Creativity in color grading is not about ha...
28/04/2026
A Simple Introduction to Cavalry: Indexed Circle
Simon Ubsdell April 28, 2026
0 Comments
In this new introductory tutorial for Cavalry we're going...
28/04/2026
Rise, the award-winning advocacy group for gender diversity in the broadcast and media technology sector, is pleased to announce a new global training programme...
28/04/2026
Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live, expanding their ...
28/04/2026
LiveU is inviting MPTS visitors to step into the companys new Q Era on Stand D32, at The Grand Hall, Olympia, London (May 13-14). The company will showcase its ...
28/04/2026
IBC today announces the launch of the IBC2026 Innovation Awards, with nominations now open for projects, programmes and initiatives that exemplify breakthrough ...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/04/2026
Introducing Nx 3-Strip v2 - A Physics-Based Technicolor Reconstruction for DaVin...
28/04/2026
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on how developers, 3D practitioners, and enterprises can transform their workflows ...
28/04/2026
AI agent systems today juggle separate models for vision, speech and language - ...
28/04/2026
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Whelan as its new London Correspondent.
Sean has held the role of Washington Correspondent for the last...
28/04/2026
Joseph O'Connor, Eileen Walsh, Louise Duffy, Mick Lynch, Gormfhlaith N Thuairisg and Dermot Bannon take a personal look at life 100yrs ago in new TV docume...
27/04/2026
CES Power, a provider of infrastructure for live events, has announced the acquisition of three Ireland-based businesses: GH Energy Rental Ltd, Event Power, and...
27/04/2026
FuboTV Inc. has announced it is developing its Multiview feature for the Fubo streaming service on select LG TVs, including 2024, 2025, and newer 4K and 8K mode...
27/04/2026
Shade, a file management platform for creative teams, has announced a $14 million funding round led by Khosla Ventures, Construct Capital, and Bling Capital, br...
27/04/2026
The Audio Engineering Society (AES) will present the Immersive Audio Academy 12th Edition - Immersive Audio in All Flavors - on April 30, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. ...
27/04/2026
DAZN has announced DAZN48, a creator program for the FIFA World Cup 2026 that will recruit 48 creators - one representing each of the 48 qualified nations - to ...
27/04/2026
FloSports has announced exclusive streaming rights to four CrossFit competitions: Legends Del Mar: CrossFit Semi-Finals, Magic City Games, NorCal Classic, and t...
27/04/2026
Telestream has announced that Pulse, its software-defined test and measurement p...
27/04/2026
Shade has announced it is a Cloud Computing and Storage winner in the 2026 NAB Show Product of the Year Awards. Winners were selected by a panel of industry exp...
27/04/2026
Leading the NBA's video-ads platform, this Penn State grad is at the forefro...
27/04/2026
DAZN has expanded its international broadcast rights for the T100 Triathlon World Tour to include Africa. All races from the T100 calendar will be available for...
27/04/2026
NAB Show has announced the recipients of its 2026 Project of the Year and Product of the Year Awards at a ceremony at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Each wi...
27/04/2026
DIRECTV has launched on Meta Quest headsets, becoming the first MVPD to offer live TV through the platform. The timing coincides with the stretch run of the MLB...
27/04/2026
TBL Team Boxing League has announced a broadcast agreement with MSG Networks to air all remaining Season 4 fights live across MSG's television and digital p...
27/04/2026
IP integration, interoperability, growth of intercommunications were key concerns for vendors and visitors alike
Attendees at the recently concluded 2026 NAB S...
27/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
27/04/2026
A pro-audio emphasis, spectrum changes, and on-field audio mark the new products and enhancements to existing offerings
Microphones remain the primary point of...
27/04/2026
The Sports Video Group team was all over the NAB Show floor out in Las Vegas las...
27/04/2026
N r Spotify grundades f r 20 r sedan dominerades musikmarknaden av illegal nedladdning. Sedan dess har streaming bidragit till att teruppr tta betalningsvilja...
27/04/2026
Time on Spotify should feel meaningful and intentional, not something that slips...
27/04/2026
New modular multi-effects plug-in revealed
The latest plug-in from Brainworx delivers a modular set of effects designed to offer a convenient alternative to...
27/04/2026
Kit includes supercardioid & shotgun capsules
High-end mic manufacturer Schoeps have recently introduced another member of their Desert Island Set family. O...