Pamela Bjorkman

Professor Bjorkman has contributed significantly to fields and technologies converging on immune recognition of viral pathogens. She and her team are investigating the immune responses against HIV-1 and other viruses, most recently SARS-CoV-2, in order to develop improved therapeutics and/or vaccines. Applying technologies including X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy, they study pathogen glycoproteins and host immune proteins. Using structural information and alternate antibody architectures, the team is engineering antibody-based reagents with increased potency and breadth. They are also investigating the structural correlates of potent antibody-mediated neutralization of HIV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and hepatitis C virus to better understand what leads to naturally-occurring potent neutralizing antibodies. See more about this work at the Bjorkman Lab website.