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 ...
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 ...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
04/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
04/04/2026
1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...
04/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
04/04/2026
Faster, cleaner and more intuitive than ever
The control software for Flock Audio's digitally controlled patchbay systems has just been treated to an up...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
The accompanying image shows the rear panel of the ...
04/04/2026
Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB Show 2026, MEP100 SmartNIC now sup...
04/04/2026
Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
Framelight X unifies field capture, editing and publishing ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
03/04/2026
Avid will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Booth N2226, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating its Content Core platform and new AI-driven workflow c...
03/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has announced the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement follows MRMC's transition fro...
03/04/2026
Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for media workflows. Elite Media Technologies speciali...
03/04/2026
Ateme has announced that Moldtelecom has deployed Ateme technologies across its streaming workflow, covering encoding, delivery, operations, and analytics.
Mol...
03/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate Framelight X, its content management platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform connects capture, ingest, editing, and publishing in...
03/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have announced a cloud-native Master Control ...
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.
