Erica Ollmann Saphire

Erica Ollmann Saphire, Ph.D., MBA, is President and CEO and a Professor at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. She is a a structural biologist and immunologist studying some of the world’s worst viruses. Her lab uses high-resolution imaging techniques to capture hidden interactions between viral machinery, human cells, and human antibodies. This kind of microscopic reconnaissance reveals how viruses attack human cells—and how antibody-based therapies might block infections and save lives. Her work has delivered foundational “firsts” revealing how some of the world’s most lethal viruses function at the molecular level and how to provide medical defenses.

As President of Scripps, and in recognition that biological sex is a fundamental variable in health and disease, Saphire launched an institute-wide initiative to uncover sex-based differences in immune function, revealing why women and men experience different susceptibilities, symptoms, and outcomes across infectious disease, cancer, and autoimmunity. These insights are opening new paths to more accurate diagnosis, safer therapies, and more effective prevention for women and men.

Her work has been recognized with numerous national and international awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering, the Pantheon Award for Academia, Non-Profit and Research from the California Life Sciences, and the Marion Spencer Fay Award.